Page 583 | Good Times

Things To Do in Santa Cruz: Sept. 23-29

GT Staff

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September 23, 2020

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

TOP DOG SCREENING We are excited to announce a Virtual Screening of Top Dog. The Top Dog Film Festival was launched in 2017 to showcase the incredible bond between dogs and their people through independent films. Touring annually, the Top Dog Film Festival screens over two hours of the most inspirational, heartwarming and entertaining films related to dogs and their human companions from independent filmmakers around the globe. Including a carefully curated selection of films of varying lengths and styles covering topics relevant to dogs and dog lovers. A portion of ticket sales benefits Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter. Sponsored by Pacific Paw, Santa Cruz Waves, Pet Pals and Community Mobile Vet, Dr. Hannah Good, D.V.M., and Santa Cruz Film Festival. Sept. 20-25. Learn more at riotheatre.com/events-2/2020/9/12/top-dog-film-festival.

CLASSES

TECH TALKS: NEWS AND ENTERTAINMENT FOR APPLE AND ANDROID Are you getting the most out of your mobile device? Join us for a discussion about news and entertainment apps. We’ll share our joys and disappointments. We look forward to also learning from you. Register at: santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/7049332. Thursday, Sept. 24, 11am.

GENTLE YOGA Nurture your mind-body-spirit connection with this gentle hatha yoga class. It includes asana, pranayama, and meditation to help you destress, get clear, and feel centered. The practice can also improve flexibility, strength, and balance. Great for all levels and all are welcome! Registrations must be received at least two hours prior to start time. Register by donating any amount via paypal.me/LunaRaeWellness, $10-20 suggested. Affected by the fires? Experiencing financial hardship? Join for no cost, with no questions asked, by emailing lu*************@***il.com. First time? Try it out for free by emailing lu*************@***il.com. About the teacher: Luna Rae has a passion for helping others live happier, healthier lives through education, empowerment, and community. Luna is a certified yoga teacher, food and mindful eating educator, and peer support facilitator. Luna has been practicing yoga for 10 years and completed her 200-hour yoga teacher certification in 2015 at Ramapo College of New Jersey. There, she also earned a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Nutrition and Community Health. Come see how her wellness classes are filled with connection and compassion to nourish your body, mind, and spirit! Wednesdays at 5:30pm.

65-HOUR TRAINING Community members may participate in a Monarch Services virtual training to become California state-certified peer counselors for survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking. The training will be held through Oct. 14 during these times: Mondays 1pm-3:30pm, Wednesdays 1pm-3:30pm, Thursdays 1pm-3:30pm. Register by emailing al********@********cc.org.

NAMI FAMILY-TO-FAMILY CLASS NAMI’s Family-to-Family Class is an eight-week educational program for family and friends of adults with mental health challenges. Learn about how to support your loved one, gain valuable communication and coping skills, and become educated on the latest mental health research. Class is led by two trained volunteers with lived experience caring for someone with mental health conditions. Sign up online and learn more at namiscc.org/family-to-family.html. Mondays and Wednesdays at 6pm.

CHILDBIRTH EDUCATION WEEKEND EXPRESS CLASS This Saturday and Sunday virtual class from Dominican Hospital is intended for expectant mothers and their labor support team. Focus will be on the birth process, including the stages of labor and when to go to the hospital. Non-pharmaceutical coping techniques for pain, including breath work, mindfulness practices, supportive touch and positions for labor and birth, along with standard hospital procedures, pain medication options, medical interventions, cesarean birth, postpartum recovery, newborn procedures and breastfeeding basics. In this class, we will actively practice positions and coping techniques for pain, so please be dressed for movement. Please register for the PEP class session. Only after you have completed this process, the Zoom meeting information will be provided to you via email prior to your class. Classes run 1-5:30pm on these days: Sept. 26-27, Oct, 24-25, Nov. 14-15, Dec. 19-20.

COMMUNITY

FARM TO FORK GALA The fifth annual Farm to Fork Gala, benefiting human services nonprofit Community Bridges, will be held virtually from Sept. 19-27. The public is invited to get comfortable at home, grab their favorite snack and log in to Community Bridges first online auction, Farm to Fork “To-Go.” The weeklong event culminates in a Facebook livestream on Sunday, Sept. 27 at 4pm and will feature surprise guest stars and a Mystery Treasure Chest prize. All proceeds from the auction benefit Community Bridges’ 10 programs that serve over 17,000 children, families and seniors throughout Santa Cruz County. Demand for services, like meals for seniors, youth tutoring, food distributions and grocery gift cards, unemployment and rental assistance, has multiplied. Funds raised from Farm to Fork “To-Go” will ensure that we can continue to meet the needs of those who have been most impacted by Covid-19 and the CZU Lightning Complex fire.

APTOS BRANCH LIBRARY VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE A new Aptos Branch Library is on the way! The Santa Cruz Public Library, County of Santa Cruz Department of Public Works, Anderson Brule Architects (ABA), Bogard Construction and Second District Supervisor Zach Friend invite you to the Aptos Branch Library Virtual Open House. Learn about the design, ask questions and share comments. The Aptos Branch of the Santa Cruz County Public Library System has outgrown its current facilities. The county has completed a feasibility study, selected a design-build team, and begun the design process. The design concept has been developed based on input gathered from four community meetings during the study. Bogard Construction and ABA, the design-build team, is now ready to share the design concept, answer questions, and hear your comments. Come see the exciting results of the hard work and collaboration of the community and the county at a virtual open house event. The discussions will focus on site and architecture and interior layout. RSVP at: surveymonkey.com/r/NewAptosBranchLibrary. Reserva: surveymonkey.com/r/AptosSRC. Monday, Sept. 28, 5:30pm.

ANNUAL WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S Join the fight for Alzheimer’s first survivor. This year, the Walk to End Alzheimer’s is everywhere! We aren’t gathering as a large group on Sept. 26, but we will be walking safely with family and friends in our own neighborhoods, parks, and favorite trails throughout Santa Cruz County—walking to raise funds and awareness for Alzheimer’s care, support, and research. Mark your calendar, register, watch our inspiring online ceremony, drive by our beautiful Promise Garden, and help us paint Santa Cruz County purple to honor and celebrate the millions of families touched by Alzheimer’s and all other dementias. Visit act.alz.org/santacruz2020 to learn more! For more information on participating or getting involved with your local Walk to End Alzheimer’s, please call 831-647-9890 or visit alz.org/walk.

VIRTUAL WALK-A-MILE Our annual Walk-a-Mile fundraiser is going virtual this year! The walk will take place on Saturday, Oct. 3, to coincide with the first weekend of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Between now and event day, participants can sign up online individually or as a team, create a personalized web page and outreach to their networks to fund their walk. Through our event site, social media networks and teams, we will raise awareness and build support for the movement to end violence in our community. All funds raised through this year’s Walk-a-Mile event will go toward meeting the immediate needs of survivors (housing support, food, transportation, etc.), violence prevention programming for youth and teens, as well as outreach to those most at-risk of violence during this time. Learn more at monarchwam.funraise.org.

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

TALES TO TAILS GOES VIRTUAL SCPL’s early childhood literacy program, Virtual Tales to Tails, has moved to a new time slot: Mondays, 3:30-4:30pm. At the end of your school day, hop online and have fun reading at your own pace to an audience of therapy dogs, cats and other guest animals. Have math homework? Good news! Your furry audience would also love to learn how to count, add and subtract. Register online. Registrants receive reminders, links to the live program, and fun (educational) activities to complete and have showcased on future sessions Learn more at santacruzpl.libcal.com/event/6764938.

GROUPS

PEER SUPPORT CIRCLE These are especially hard times. Whatever you’re struggling with, you’re not alone! The Peer Support Circle is a facilitated container to express, connect, and support each other with care and empathy. Authentic shares and compassionate responses are encouraged. Whether you’re dealing with a challenging situation or difficult emotions, we are here for you. All are welcome! Drop-in, so you can come any week you like. Space is limited to six participants each week. Registrations must be received at least two hours prior to start time. Register by donating any amount via paypal.me/LunaRaeWellness, $10-20 suggested. Affected by the fires? Experiencing financial hardship? Join for no cost, with no questions asked, by emailing lu*************@***il.com. First time? Try it out for free by emailing lu*************@***il.com. About the facilitator: Luna Rae has a passion for helping others live happier, healthier lives through education, empowerment, and community. Luna is a peer support facilitator, certified yoga teacher, and mindful eating educator. Luna has been facilitating peer support groups since 2012. Her educational background includes a B.A. in Psychology and a B.A. in Nutrition and Community Health from Ramapo College of New Jersey. Come see how her wellness offerings are filled with connection and compassion to nourish your body, mind, and spirit! Sundays at 11:30am.

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

SEA OTTER AWARENESS WEEK Virtual Sea Otter Awareness Week is Sept. 20-26. Discover the critical role sea otters play in the nearshore ecosystem during the Seymour Center’s virtual Sea Otter Awareness Week. Special at-home activities, lectures, interviews with scientists, and crafts will highlight sea otters’ natural history, reveal conservation issues facing these marine mammals, and so much more. For more details on Sea Otter Awareness Week events and activities, visit the Seymour Center’s website: seymourcenter.ucsc.edu/learn/family-activities/family-events/#sea-otter-week.

EVERGREEN AT DUSK: CEMETERY HISTORY TOURS Discover the shadows and secrets found within Evergreen Cemetery, one of the oldest public cemeteries in California, on a self-guided tour of the grounds. Bring your curiosity (and maybe some flashlights) as you explore the final resting place of Santa Cruz’s early settlers. The 45-minute tour is a self-driven adventure uncovering the stories and tombstones of the people who made Santa Cruz what it is today. Designed for daring, curious, and history-loving households, this tour is great for all ages! Registration is limited to one household per tour to ensure plenty of spacing as groups individually explore the cemetery. Each tour should take 30-45 minutes to complete. The time you select is when your group/household tour start; we recommend arriving 5-10 minutes early to ensure you can begin right on time. Dates and times vary. You will be able to select the date and time of your tour when purchasing tickets. Learn more at santacruzmah.org/events.

ANNUAL COASTAL CLEANUP For over a decade, Save Our Shores has regionally hosted Annual Coastal Cleanup in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. This year, to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Save Our Shores will not be hosting cleanups at organized sites on one particular day. Instead, you can conduct your own local cleanup with those you have been sheltering in place with on any Saturday during the month of September. These individual, close-to-home cleanups will protect our oceans beginning at our own front doors. Learn more and find out how to participate by visiting saveourshores.org/coastal-cleanup-2020.

New Beach Hut Deli Serves Up Sandwiches With a Surfside Vibe

Andrew Steingrube

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September 23, 2020

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New Beach Hut Deli Serves Up Sandwiches With a Surfside Vibe

It’s not easy to open during a pandemic, but Beach Hut Deli in Santa Cruz is doing its best to gain a foothold and local following.

Recently opening its doors (seven days a week from 10am to 8pm), the franchise is owned by local couple Joe and Marisa DuBois. Joe, a former UCSC men’s basketball assistant coach, and Marisa, a 15-year restaurant industry veteran, wanted to combine their love of good food, sports, and music into the deli. Marisa shares with GT her thoughts on their burgeoning business.

What was it like opening during the Covid-19 pandemic?

MARISA DUBOIS: It was definitely interesting and challenging. We’ve been working on this for quite a while—we were in too far to turn back. We knew it would be a challenge, but we felt like Santa Cruz needed a deli with good vibes and a family-friendly atmosphere. We are parents ourselves. It’s very important for us to be kid-friendly, and we have a great kid’s menu with items like hot dogs, PB&Js, and grilled cheese. Our deli is kind of like a cross between a sports bar and a family spot. We like to look at it as a lunch vacation with reggae music and big screen TVs.

What is your most popular sandwich?

The “Surfing Bird,” which has turkey, bacon, avocado, and cream cheese. A lot of our sandwiches feature cream cheese, avocado, and bacon, and we use only the freshest ingredients from local farms. What sets us apart from other delis is how loaded with fresh ingredients our sandwiches are; they are more filling and a better value. We have lots of vegetarian and vegan options, too. One popular vegetarian sandwich is the Cali Caprese, which has garlic sourdough cheese bread, balsamic dressing, pesto, tomato, jack cheese, and spinach. We really do have something for everyone; it’s a diverse menu for a deli.

What are some of the highlights from the soup and salad menu?

Our Chef Salad is really popular, it has turkey, ham, salami, jack and cheddar cheese, avocado, tomato, onion, peppers and bacon. We have a Buffalo Chicken Salad that has ingredients like bacon, tomato, blue cheese crumbles, and buffalo seasoned chicken. We also have up to eight different soups: Two of our most popular are turkey lasagna and chicken poblano.

381 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. 831-431-6921. beachhutdeli.com.

Opinion: Sept. 23, 2020

Steve Palopoli

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September 23, 2020

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Sure, opening public schools up to all students right now is risking not only the health of our children, but also our entire community. And sure, they would undoubtedly close within a couple of weeks after one if not multiple outbreaks of Covid-19 scares everyone back to their senses. And yet, what parent hasn’t briefly considered that even that brief respite from distance learning just might be worth it, while trying to explain to their kid how to multiply decimals, calculate the area of a geometric plane or whatever other grade-equivalent nightmare they are now tasked with teaching?

In his story for our Back to School Issue—somewhat ironically named under the circumstances, it’s true—Todd Guild examines both how parents and students are coping with these challenges (spoiler alert: not well) and if we can expect any normalcy to return to school in the near future. He also writes about why the timing may now be right for Cabrillo College to be renamed. Meanwhile, Wallace Baine explains how a new two-volume book takes a remarkably in-depth look at the history of UCSC.

I also want to remind readers who saw our cover story last week about the “Love You Madly” fire relief effort that the second week of videos from local and national musicians is now up at santacruzfirerelief.org, encouraging donations to Community Foundation Santa Cruz County’s Fire Response Fund. There’s a very sweet message from Los Lobos’ Louis Perez, in which he talks about how “Santa Cruz has always had a special place in our heart,” and the band contributes a performance of “Anselma.” There are also songs from Mira Goto, Tess Dunn, Keith Greeninger, Henry Chadwick, Poor Man’s Whiskey, Cement Ship—and those are just the videos for this week. Make sure to check out the new releases every week, and please donate to help the hundreds of fire victims in our community.

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

EXPANDING EMPATHY

Reading the latest Good Times about the Fire Relief campaign (GT, 9/16), I was struck by the similarities of circumstance with many of the homeless in our community. They, too, have lost their homes, but unlike the fire victims, they have truly lost everything else. They have no assets or friends to fall back on. Fire victims have lost physical assets, which is a great psychological loss, but they have friends, family, the land, insurance and an outpouring of help from the community to aid in their recovery. And I, for one, am glad to help in that effort.

I realize that helping the homeless requires a long and sustained effort because the depth of their helplessness and lack of resources makes reintegration back into society a very hard thing to accomplish. I just hope our community’s eyes are opened a little wider as a result of this tragedy to view our homeless with a heightened sense of compassion and empathy as we help fire victims recover from this conflagration.

Richard Rammer | Santa Cruz

Trail Decision is Not Either-Or

So train or bus. It’s come to this. That’s like asking us if we want boots or galoshes when really we wanted running shoes all along. Oh my, our feet are hobbled.

I know I could never be a politician. I can’t answer and respond on the spot. It’s been days and nights since I read the “Major Decision” train-or-bus group letter (GT, 9/2). It bothered me when I read it, but it took days of riding around on my bicycle and nights in between to arrive at the realization that what’s happening in our body politic at the macro and micro level is this strange weaving of narrative to accomplish certain outcomes, not all of which are apparent on the surface; i.e., nothing is quite what It seems. I guess you could say we’re living in a fairy tale.

Where I arrived at is that you could take this whole letter and just switch out a couple of lines and it would be just as “true.” We could have had a world-class transit trail (our Santa Cruz finessed version of Monterey) within months of signing the deal and instead we’ve been forced to be in traffic—and heavy traffic at that—all the while knowing we have this treasure of a coastal corridor worth its weight in gold to our day-to-day quality of life.

Randomly selected citizens who came into the Wise Democracy Citizens Wisdom Council on the rail corridor expressed in the first evening that there was some strange kind of fight going on that nobody could make sense of. There was a general feeling that everybody would love a train but nobody really knew if it made sense for our demographic. Two days later from their own process, through being dynamically facilitated; that means it’s what comes out of them entirely, they emerged with “railbank the corridor so that we don’t lose the possibility of some futuristic light rail and open the rail corridor forthwith to modes of transport including bicycles and electric (swift people-movers) as well as space for families and elders to pedal along at their own pace, but for goodness sake just give the community the means to commute and recreate in this safe corridor away from traffic…yesterday.”

Central to what they distilled in their hours together is that this actually isn’t about transportation per se, it’s about a bigger conversation as a community that we haven’t even begun to have.

You can check out Santa Cruz County citizen wisdom council archival on the rail corridor at peoplewisdom.org. It happened in January 2019 and was the first Wise Democracy Citizens Wisdom Council in Santa Cruz County.

Corinna McFarlane | Santa Cruz

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

DAVID SPADE & ROB SCHNEIDER – 8 pm – COMEDY IN YOUR CAR
Think DRIVE-IN meets LIVE ENTERTAINMENT
Visit: https://www.concertsinyourcar.com

Each ticket is valid for ONE car. The number of passengers must not exceed the number of safety belts /seats in your vehicle.

CBF Productions is proud to present California’s FIRST social distancing LIVE Entertainment series, “Concerts In Your Car” at the Ventura County Fairgrounds!

This drive-in concert series will create a new entertainment experience – all from the comfort and safety of your own vehicle.

DAVID SPADE & ROB SCHNEIDER – COMEDY IN YOUR CAR ***LIVE IN PERSON, ON STAGE***

David Spade: Nominated in 1999 for an Emmy Award for his memorable role as Dennis Finch, the wise-cracking, power-hungry assistant on “Just Shoot Me,” David Spade became a household favorite during his five-year stint as a cast member on NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.” He was also nominated for a Golden Globe in 2000 and an American Comedy Award in 1999 for his work on NBC’s “Just Shoot Me.”

Spade’s new late-night series “Lights Out with David Spade” premiered on Comedy Central last month. The series follows “The Daily Show” at 11:30PM and features Spade’s signature take on pop culture news of the day while incorporating field segments that mirror his popular Instagram stories. He recently wrapped production on the Netflix original comedy, THE LAST MISSY and is signed on to star in Diablo Cody and Jason Reitman’s half-hour comedy which is currently in development at HBO.

Rob Schneider is an accomplished actor, comedian, screenwriter and director. A stand-up comic and veteran of the award-winning NBC sketch comedy series Saturday Night Live, Schneider has gone on to a successful career in films, television and continues his word-wide standup tour.

Most recently, Schneider launched his first ever podcast “See What Happens,” available on streaming platforms. Hosted by Schneider and his wife Patricia Maya Schneider, the weekly show features occasional guests-from the duo’s Hollywood friend to their gardener while dissecting show business, their contrasting parenting methods, jokes, good food, philosophy and more. New episodes begin airing in August

Extra high 360 degree stage and screens will ensure a good viewing experience for everyone.

Sound will be distributed via FM radio. If your car stereo is not working, please bring a FM radio.

Space is very limited.

All the event information can be found on our website at ConcertsInYourCar.com, please be sure to review FAQs before purchasing and arriving, but here is some info to get you started:

Each ticket is valid for ONE car. The number of passengers must not exceed the number of safety belts /seats in your vehicle.

All vehicles are subject to search.

All tickets are first come, first parked, in the row you purchased and will not be assigned prior to arrival (first come, first parked basis). Parking attendants will direct each driver to a parking space in their designated row upon arrival. To ensure you don’t miss a thing, we added large video screens on each side of the stage.

All CDC and State of California guidelines will be followed, and we are working closely with Ventura County and the City of Ventura to ensure this event meets or exceeds all recommended standards.

To be considerate of all attendees we do not allow smoking at this event. Thank you for your understanding.

We ask that all attendees stay inside/by their vehicle. You are allowed to sit in folding chairs by your vehicle but you MUST wear a face mask and maintain social distancing.

You may view the show from the bed of your truck. You may not be sitting so high as to obstruct the view of others. You MUST wear a face mask.

Hatches may be open but must not exceed roof height. If hatch is spring loaded please tie it down so it doesn’t obstruct the view of others. Please use common courtesy so everyone can enjoy the show.

If a medical condition exists that prevents a guest from wearing a face-covering, then they must remain inside their vehicle at ALL times. No exceptions.

Portable restrooms will be available onsite. We ask that only two people per car at a time leave the vehicle to use. Please wear a mask and follow social distancing guidelines

In the event it is necessary for a fan to leave their vehicle, safe social distancing will be strictly enforced. Failure to follow safe social distancing, or requests of staff members for participants to follow, will cause the participant to be subject to ejection.

Event staff will be wearing personal protective equipment as required by CDC guidelines.

Tickets are ONLY available online and in advance.

Your ticket is only valid for the DAY & TIME on the top of the ticket. Nontransferable to another show.

No RVs or buses allowed.

All lifted trucks and high profile vehicles (any vehicle over 6.5 feet tall) MUST park in the ORANGE, RED, GREY OR TEAL SECTIONS.

Rain or Shine event. All sales are final and there will be no refunds.

No in and out privileges.

Outside food and drinks are permitted.

Please review ALL facts on our website prior to arrival.

Gates open 90 minutes before show starts.

All sales are final and there will be no refunds. This is a rain or shine event and there are no refunds. In the unlikely chance of a Thunder, Wind or Lightning Storm and the event gets canceled due to safety concerns there will be no refunds. Management reserves the right to refuse service to anybody or to revoke your tickets.

RELEASE AND WAIVER OF LIABILITY AGREEMENT by entering the fairgrounds ALL (“Participant”), acknowledge and agrees to the terms below. Each Person will be participating as a volunteer or participant in the Concert In Your Car Series activities at the Ventura County Fairgrounds premises and facilities (the “Fair”): I AM AWARE OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC AND RELATED GOVERNMENTAL ORDERS,DIRECTIVES AND GUIDELINES (COLLECTIVELY “DIRECTIVES”), INCLUDING DIRECTIVES FOR FREQUENT HAND WASHING, SOCIAL DISTANCING AND USE OF FACE MASKS IN PUBLIC LOCATIONS. I AM AWARE THAT THESE ACTIVITIES ARE OCCURRING IN A PUBLIC LOCATION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC, AND ALSO POTENTIALLY INVOLVE LIVESTOCK OR OTHER FAIRGROUNDS ACTIVITIES, AND ARE THEREFORE HAZARDOUS ACTIVITIES. I AM AWARE THAT I COULD BE INFECTED, SERIOUSLY INJURED OR EVEN DIE DUE TO COVID-19 OR DUE TO ACTIVITIES ON THE FAIRGROUNDS INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LIVESTOCK ACTIVITIES. I AM VOLUNTARILY PARTICIPATING IN THESE ACTIVITIES WITH KNOWLEDGE OF THE DANGER INVOLVED AND AGREE TO ASSUME ANY AND ALL RISKS OF BODILY INJURY, DEATH OR PROPERTY DAMAGE, WHETHER THOSE RISKS ARE KNOWN OR UNKNOWN. As consideration for being permitted by the Fair, the State of California (“State”), the County of Ventura(the “County”), and any lessor of the fair premises (“Lessor”), to participate in these activities and use the Fair premises and facilities, I forever release the Fair, CBF Productions (Producer Of Shows), the State, California Fair Services Authority (“CFSA”), the County, the Lessor, and any fair affiliated organization, along with their respective directors, officers, employees, volunteers, agents, contractors, and representatives (collectively“Releasees”) from any and all liabilities, causes of action, lawsuits, claims, demands, or damages of any kind whatsoever that I, my assignees, heirs, distributees, guardians, next of kin, spouse and legal representatives now have, or may have in the future, for injury, death, or property damage, related to (i) my participation in these activities, (ii) the negligence or other acts of any Releasee, whether directly connected to these activities or not, and however caused, or (iii) the condition of the premises where these activities occur, whether or not I am then participating in the activities. I also agree that I, my assignees, heirs, distributees, guardians, next of kin, spouse and legal representatives will not make a claim against, sue, or attach the property of any Releasee in connection with any of the matters covered by the foregoing release. I HAVE CAREFULLY READ THIS AGREEMENT AND FULLY UNDERSTAND ITS CONTENTS. I AM AWARE THAT THIS IS A RELEASE OF LIABILITY AND A CONTRACT BETWEEN MYSELF AND THE FAIR, CBF PRODUCTIONS, THE STATE, CFSA, THE COUNTY, AND THE LESSOR.

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

POWER OF FUN

Santa Cruz County has launched the Powered by Me campaign to gather community input to help develop the county’s first-ever Active Transportation Plan. The plan will provide a roadmap for future improvements for walking and bicycling in unincorporated Santa Cruz County with funding from Caltrans Sustainable Communities Transportation Planning grant and matching funds. Those who live, work, or play in unincorporated Santa Cruz County may provide input on biking and walking infrastructure at ecoact.org/poweredbyme.

GOOD WORK

CITIZEN GAIN

The county’s election office is getting ready to drop ballots in the mail Oct. 5. California is allowing all registered voters to vote from home in an effort to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Voters impacted by the CZU Lightning Complex fire do not need to re-register. They do, however, have the option of filling out a change-of-address form at votescount.us. Ballots can’t be forwarded. Residents may also go to an in-person location to get a ballot or sign up to receive a ballot via email.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Well we got no class/And we got no principals/We ain’t got no innocence/We can’t even think of a word that rhymes.”
-Alice Cooper

Students, Teachers and Parents Feel the Strain of Distance Learning

Todd Guild

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September 22, 2020

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Students, Teachers and Parents Feel the Strain of Distance Learning

Santa Cruz’s Jennifer Gallacher already had a busy schedule. She works a full-time job in the UCSC administration, and runs a small business, the Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studios, with her husband.

But since the Covid-19 pandemic hit, forcing schools to close and students to work from home in so-called distance learning, the couple have added a new job: de facto educators to their two kids, in fourth and seventh grade.

With strained timetables, frustrated kids and overloaded home internet, Gallacher says it is difficult to devote enough time to both work and kids.

“I pretty much vacillate between feeling like I’ve gotten it under control, and that I’m a complete failure as a parent,” she says.

And it’s not just the adults that are feeling the strain of the shift to home learning. Her kids, she says, desperately miss the social aspect that comes with going to school.

Steve Wuerth, whose 6-year-old son is engaging in distance learning, says he’s frustrated by the decisions that are keeping students at home.

Businesses through the county are open, he says, so why are schools still shuttered? He says education is more than merely sitting and listening to teachers talk—it’s the sum total of teaching, hands-on experience and peer interactions that make up learning.

“He doesn’t just learn on his own,” says Wuerth. “He learns by watching everyone. You put it all together and you formulate who you are.”

When California Gov. Gavin Newsom released the state’s four-tier protocol for reopening on Aug. 27, Santa Cruz County soon reduced its numbers of Covid-19 cases and moved into to the red—or “substantial”–category.

Previously under the Blueprint for a Safer Economy, California’s purple “widespread” category all but prohibited schools from reopening.

But after spending two weeks under the less restrictive label–meaning the county’s number of new positive tests was down to 5-8% per 100,000 residents–schools can technically begin to allow students to return on Sept. 22.

But doing so immediately for any district would be a risky move. School superintendents must balance student and staff safety with directives from their own county health offices, and consider that the enormous complexity of reopening their schools could be compounded if their county moves back to a more restrictive category, says Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah.

It is unlikely that school will reopen on a large scale, he says.

“It has to be thoughtful, and it has to be sustainable,” says Sabbah. “Our approach has to be really well-thought out and not reactive, and I think that’s in the best interest of students and families and staff. The reality is that we’re still in a pandemic. So if we don’t do it carefully and widely, it could create an outbreak.”

The California Department of Education has a comprehensive list of criteria to help guide school districts in their decision making.

Students throughout the U.S.–40,000 in Santa Cruz County, according to Ed-Data–have been engaged in distance learning since early this year, when Covid-19 began to make its worldwide sweep and schools began to close their doors.

That has been a hardship for many parents, particularly those who work full-time, who found themselves unwittingly cast into the role of academic coach.

The shift has also been a strain on educators, who now have to reinvent the way they do their jobs.

“Our teachers have been working really hard,” Sabbah says. “We did a lot of preparation over the summer, but we were preparing for a hybrid learning environment, so the pivot to full distance learning happened at the end of July.”

While most students have adapted to the brave new world of coronavirus-era schooling, distance learning has taken a toll on some, Sabbah said.

“In some ways it’s had the deepest impact on our students who have educational needs, like our special education students or English learners,” he said. “For those students, it’s very difficult to create a comprehensive, effective distance learning program.”

District officials are also concerned about a different category of students: those who, for a host of reasons, are not participating in their virtual classes.

Pajaro Valley Unified School District this week began to hold small groups in “safe spaces” for those students, Superintendent Michelle Rodriguez says. That plan, if successful, is likely to expand, she adds.

“We will eventually need to bring back small subsets of special education students,” she says. “We have a commitment and a requirement to support not only special education students, but other students who are not participating in distance learning.”

According to Rodriguez, PVUSD is developing a Return to School Readiness Index, a comprehensive algorithm customized to each of the district’s 35 school sites that rates such factors as classroom air flow, signage, transportation and food service.

The index also looks at whether desks are spaced six feet apart, and if that is not possible, whether plexiglass shields separate students.

In addition, the district must be able to meet the state requirement to test 25% of its staff every two weeks–or all of them every two months–before she will consider reopening.

The district is taking direction from the Santa Cruz County Health Department, too, she says.

“As superintendent, my main focus is assuring that the system is ready,” Rodriguez says. “So if and when the health conditions are ready, we can move simultaneously. I don’t want us to be the last.”

Sabbah says that, as a parent of school-aged children, he understands the pressure parents are feeling. SCCOE, along with districts across the country, are hearing from parents and students frustrated by the distance model.

Still, he says that any decision regarding reopening–or staying with the current model–must be made judiciously.

“We’re looking at the science when it comes to safety and to our local health officers, and to the guidance we’re getting from the state,” he said. “This way we can provide the very best learning environment for our students.”

Sprawling Oral History Traces the Evolution of UCSC

Wallace Baine

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September 22, 2020

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Sprawling Oral History Traces the Evolution of UCSC

In the early 1960s, when the University of California decided to establish a new campus in Santa Cruz, the 13th employee it hired—right alongside the campus engineer and its principal architect—was a historian.

Elizabeth Spedding Calciano was brought in to lead the Regional History Project as part of UCSC’s nascent library system. From the beginning, her job was to establish an oral history of not only the founding of the new campus, but the Monterey Bay communities that surrounded it.

That kind of fundamental commitment to history as it unfolds has now borne fruit in the form of a remarkable two-volume oral history titled Seeds of Something Different, a detailed and diverse account of UCSC’s ongoing 50-plus-year story, told by those who lived it.

The twin volumes—each featuring a landscape photograph of the campus by Ansel Adams—is the work of a trio of historians including Irene Reti, Cameron Vanderscoff, and Sarah Rabkin. Included are verbatim anecdotes, descriptions, and accounts from more than 200 people—students, faculty, administrators, artists, activists, and townspeople, all chronicling the last half-century (and more) of Santa Cruz and its idiosyncratic, ever-evolving namesake university.

“It’s a complicated book,” says Reti, a UCSC alum who still works as an oral historian at the university. “That’s why it’s 925 pages.”

Seeds will remain for years to come the go-to source on the cherished story of UCSC’s founding and its pioneering class. But Reti says it was important for the book to be more than that well-known origin story.

“We felt it was important that we not fall into the trap of only enshrining those first years.”

As a result, Seeds traces a complex story from the university’s unlikely journey from an almost utopian teaching-based college to a science-oriented research university, and the winding, often contentious journey it took to get there.

Still, the early chapters of the first volume are dominated by the staggering task of building a UC campus on ranch land outside Santa Cruz, the dream project of two men, UC president Clark Kerr and his old grad-school roommate Dean McHenry, who would go on to be the new university’s first chancellor.

Reacting to a growing sense that higher education was getting larger and more impersonal, the new campus was to be designed as a reflection of the Oxford model, small “colleges” within a single university framework, to create a more intimate and immediate educational experience. McHenry especially, says Reti, “had a strong interest in utopian movements, and was very much a product of the progressive 1930s and ’40s.”

Bringing this model to life fell largely to former UCLA historian Page Smith, the initial college’s first provost, a man who embodied both radical ideas and traditionalist notions about education. Smith—who came up with the narrative evaluations of students in lieu of letter grades, another distinct quirk of UCSC—was, says Reti, “this imposing Western cowboy intellectual.”

However progressive his ideas about education, Smith was not a figure of the 1960s counterculture. Despite a widespread stereotype that the university brought the hippie movement to Santa Cruz, Reti says that the counterculture caught UCSC as off-guard as it did the town itself.

“Both [Smith] and Dean McHenry were concerned about the image of the campus, and the community was horrified. The university students looked a lot different [when the university first opened] than they did just five years later when the counterculture took hold. Smith was caught in this bind—and McHenry, too—of wanting innovation, but not that much innovation.”

The book also tells the story of the many subcultures and academic interests that developed in the university’s first couple of decades, from the anti-war movement, to the development of the arts, to the growing power of feminist consciousness on campus. The two volumes contain more than 250 photographs of this rich history, from images of dorm life, protests and demonstrations, and formal ceremonies (including a shot of revolutionary Huey Newton receiving his Ph.D.)

The book also has its share of campus celebrities, some of the most influential faculty associated with the university, from Alan Chadwick, an innovator in gardening who established UCSC as an enormous influence in the organic-gardening movement, to William Everson, the master printer and poet who served as a kind of high priest of the Santa Cruz back-to-the-land aesthetic.

As years went by, the university’s form—the college system, narrative evaluations—remained constant while its mission was entirely re-engineered, largely by Robert Sinsheimer, who served as chancellor from 1977-1987. Sinsheimer himself was a pioneering biologist in the study of genetics and DNA, and as chancellor he laid the groundwork for UCSC to be a significant player in the development of the Human Genome Project years later.

“One of the great paradoxes of UCSC,” says Reti, “is that it was originally intended to emphasize the liberal arts. But with the arrival of (biologist and Crown College provost) Kenneth Thimann, it became a prestigious science campus, which continues to the present day.”

Woven throughout both volumes, however, is the ever-dynamic relationship between the university and the Santa Cruz community, particularly when it comes to the university’s growth, and its continuing influence on the town’s political, economic, and cultural personality. (The book’s most recent interviews were from 2019, so Covid-19 and the 2020 fires will have to wait for Volume 3).

“I really believe that the campus and the community have created each other,” says Reti. “We’re absolutely entwined at this point. Anyone who lives in Santa Cruz is impacted by the university, and the entire culture of Santa Cruz changed with the coming of the university. This is definitely a story for all of us locals, as well as for anyone interested in history in general, of the counterculture, of higher education, or California.”

Santa Cruz County Fires: Meet the Climate Refugees

Jacob Pierce

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September 22, 2020

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Santa Cruz County Fires: Meet the Climate Refugees

[This is part four of a series about the health impacts of homelessness. Part five will run Oct. 7. – Editor]

After the Camp Fire destroyed her home and most of the town of Paradise in November of 2018, Renee Henderson remembers feeling like a dandelion tossed into the wind—she didn’t know where she was going to land, she says.

“I was homeless for a month until I bought a trailer,” recalls Henderson, who was working as a principal for Paradise’s Cedarwood Elementary, a half-hour northeast of Chico. “I was lucky because I had insurance, which paid rent for the trailer. A lot of people moved into tents in Chico. We still have people living in tents and trailers in Butte County.”

Henderson lived in that 36-foot-long trailer with two dogs and four cats for eight months, while she watched home prices and rents soar around her, due to the supply shock precipitated by the Camp Fire’s leveling of 14,000 homes. She ended up buying a home farther north, in Oroville, another Butte County town, where she now serves as a middle school principal.

In recent weeks, a different Butte County fire, called the North Complex, has been giving Henderson flashbacks of 2018 as it rips through the Sierra Nevada region where she lives now. The greater Chico area was already expensive. But this latest blaze has already displaced three families at her school, and she’s worried that the latest crisis may price those students and their parents out of a region that never fully recovered from the devastation that the Camp Fire wrought nearly two years ago.

“It creates a housing crisis in a town that can’t handle it,” she says.

The new fire adds a layer of tragedy to a familiar crisis. Just last week, for instance, Chico nonprofits modified an already-scheduled food and toiletry distribution at Kmart for Camp Fire survivors, who are still struggling, and expanded it to welcome in evacuees from the North Complex.

Locally, Santa Cruz County is reeling from the CZU Lightning Complex as it slowly lifts evacuation orders and contemplates its rebuild. The CZU fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains destroyed more than 900 homes, a fraction of the loss in Paradise—but still enough to make it the ninth-most-destructive fire in state history, as well as the county’s biggest natural disaster in three decades. As of Sunday, firefighting crews had contained 99% of the blaze, which is no longer growing in size.

Recent disasters from around California offer a cautionary tale about the affordability and humanitarian challenges that could lie ahead in the county. The damage can persist long after the smoke has cleared.

VAN THE FLAMES

One month after losing nearly everything he owned in the CZU fire, Rob wrenches on the rear door of a van he just spent the last of his money on, which he’s moving into. But even as he enters his second bout of homelessness in two years, Rob says he doesn’t identify as homeless.

“California’s my home. I live here,” he says, grimacing, as he sets down his wrench, slides his index finger into the door, pulls on the handle and finagles a broken lock that he’s trying to fix.

Rob, a freelance car mechanic who asked us to withhold his last name, has barely worked since the Covid-19 pandemic began in March. He moved to a rental in the Santa Cruz Mountains area of Bonny Doon just before the blaze started. Lately, he’s been staying at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds’ temporary shelter.

“People don’t realize that being homeless is not an evil thing. It’s a fact. It happens. You shouldn’t shun the homeless. You should help the homeless,” he says.

The same night that the CZU fire claimed Rob’s place, it also destroyed the Last Chance-area home of Holiday Smith, as well as those belonging to her friends and family, who left their backwoods region in a mad scramble on Aug. 18 as an inferno roared in and engulfed their neighborhood—all before Cal Fire sent out any evacuation warnings. Last week, Smith finally moved out of the evacuation center at the fairgrounds and into a trailer in Bonny Doon.

Smith, a teacher at Bonny Doon Elementary, and her neighbors are navigating the FEMA application process. Next, they’ll be waiting out mudslides and working with the Planning Department. They’ll have to sort through electrical-grid issues, sewage hookups and various permitting complexities—all of which Last Chancers hope that the Board of Supervisors will be ironing out soon. (Agenda materials for a recent board meeting on topics surrounding the rebuild stretched more than 400 pages.) County planners, residents say, had been well aware of Last Chance since its early days, more than 40 years ago, but took a don’t-ask-questions approach to even the most basic of the permitting details in Last Chance. Smith and her neighbors just want a chance to rebuild their community.

In the meantime, though, “we’re climate refugees,” she says.

LIKE A REFUGEE

Joey Crottogini, manager for the Homeless Person’s Health Project, worries about how the wildfires layered on top of the Covid-19 pandemic could exacerbate a crisis in a housing market that frequently ranks as one of the most expensive in the country.

Not only have the economic shutdowns created widespread job insecurity, but also, Crottogini has read stories about the rise of telecommuting prompting more high-earning Silicon Valley tech employees to buy homes farther from their workplaces, putting increased pressure on the housing market.

He has seen how tragedy displaces people. While Crottogini was working in homeless services in Alameda County a few years ago, he met refugees from various backgrounds around the world—Burma, Sudan, Nigeria, “all over,” he says.

On a more personal note, he saw how horrific 2017 wildfires reshaped his hometown of Santa Rosa, and did so in ways that were not always equitable.

“A lot of people have rebuilt in Santa Rosa. But there’s probably equally as many people who didn’t have as many resources that just flat-out said, ‘I’m moving out of state,’” he says.

Crottogini hopes the current crises lead governments to make it easier for developers to build housing, both locally and around the state.

As of Monday, Santa Cruz County spokesperson Jason Hoppin said there were 1,225 local evacuees staying in hotels via a FEMA-managed program designed to coordinate shelter for evacuees amid the Covid-19 pandemic. He added that there were 66 more guests staying at the fairgrounds and 64 staying at the Asilomar Conference Grounds through a separate state program.

This is in addition to the some 180 medically vulnerable homeless residents over the age of 65 who are staying in four hotels in Santa Cruz County through California’s Project Homekey, which aims to cut risks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Hoppin tells GT via email that shelter programs for fire evacuees will continue “for the duration of the emergency.”

MOUNT OF SILENCE

Santa Cruz County Supervisor Ryan Coonerty—who represents the Last Chance, Swanton and Bonny Doon areas—knows many of his constituents are resilient and eager to rebuild.

The first step, however, is removing hazardous contaminants and debris from the burn zone before the rains come, he says. He’s also working on how to streamline the rebuilding process to make it as smooth as possible. He hopes the changes will provide a turning point for the county’s housing approval processes.

“My hope is that not only do we make it better for people who have lost their homes and are trying to rebuild, but that we also use it as a learning experience to explore how we improve our normal building processes and reduce unnecessary steps or burdens for all housing,” he says.

In the future, Coonerty is concerned that fires, floods and power shut-offs will only become more common in the Santa Cruz Mountains, given the growing specter of climate change.

In the near term, though, he says the county is providing displaced mountain residents a way to move back home or onto their neighbors’ properties in RVs, yurts and tiny homes. He notes that the county is allowing residents to stay in hotels past the typical 30-day limit.

“Before the fires, we were in a housing crisis, and we needed to build more housing to accommodate our existing community. Nothing about that has changed,” he says. “The fact that we have more need increases that. But the problem is that building is a multiyear process. And with the amount of damage done across the state and the economic crisis we’re in, it’s hard to get the financing and materials to build housing quickly. That’s why we’re looking at these more interim solutions.”

The USC Center for Health Journalism’s 2020 California Fellowship supported reporting for this series.

Local Rockers Time Spent Driving Make Their Return

Aaron Carnes

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September 22, 2020

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Local Rockers Time Spent Driving Make Their Return

From 1999 to 2003, local rockers Time Spent Driving helped to spearhead an emo scene in Santa Cruz. They toured all over the world, got their song on some Xbox games, and were having conversations with a few record labels. But then they broke up.

“[Before TSD] we were playing in other bands and had gotten motivated. We knew how to book shows. We came out of the gate screaming,” says singer/guitarist Jon Cattivera. “We released a fair amount of music and worked really hard. We couldn’t hold down a bass player. And then one of our guys moved to Seattle, and then L.A., so it wasn’t really feasible.”

After reforming in 2012, the members of Time Spent Driving have now been together longer as a reunited band than in their original run, and their new approach is to take things slow. In 2015, they released the LP Passed and Presence, and in July they released Estrangers, Vol.1, the first half of their next album.

“Not going on tour and not feeling like you always had to get something done, that’s a testament to staying around. You’re not practicing three times a week, [so] it’s easier to stay together,” Cattivera says. “It takes two years to do everything that took five or six months before.”

Estrangers, Vol. 1 was finished and ready to go two years ago. The group was excited about these five songs, but felt like it would be better to add another five songs and make it a full length. Cattivera already had songs written. They hoped they’d have a finished album around spring 2020. They recorded much of the second half of the album last December, but Covid-19 threw a wrench in their plans to finish the tracks, and they shelved the full LP project temporarily.

“I don’t like EPs. I like full-length records. I want to hear from top to bottom what the whole thing is,” Cattivera says. “We just didn’t want to sit on them for any longer. We figured we would get it out there for people who wanted to hear it.”

The songs on Vol. 1 evoke the group’s original cathartic emo-indie style, but in a much more mature and measured way. The songwriting is highly melodic, built on Cativera’s unusual choice of chords, but unlike the unapologetically long and sprawling Passed and Presence, these songs are concise, each taking one specific idea and following through with it. The tension of the record rests on the contrast between the heavy guitar riffs, the twinkling ballads, the arena-style mid-tempo drum beats, and Cattivera’s stirring vocal work.

The album’s title is a mix of the words “estranged” and “strangers,” and the very emotive songs end up speaking to the detached feeling that many people have had this year while sheltering in place.

“Whether you’re being estranged from yourself or a loved one, there was kind of a theme there,” Cattivera says. “I had a couple of situations with friends and family members, situations where it’s like, ‘Wait a second, I knew that person. Who are they really and where did they go?’”

Since the mid-March lockdown, the members haven’t been able to get back in the studio to finish the incomplete tracks, and they’re not exactly sure when they are going to be able to. But the second half of Estrangers will come eventually.

Cattivera feels like both parts of the album are cohesive since they were written at the same time, but he also recognizes that Vol. 2 is a bit different than Vol. 1. It’s entirely possible that they’ll just decide to make the second half its own unique EP.

“I feel like each of the songs are quite different from each other. But I also feel like several of the new songs that we’re doing are different from any of those,” Cattivera says. “I know when I’m breaking new ground in certain directions. Oh, this is much slower than normal or has much different lyrical content. [As far as the second half of the album], we’ll decide when we get there.”

For more info, check out timespentdriving.com.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology: Sept. 23-29

Rob Brezsny

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September 22, 2020

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Free will astrology for the week of Sept. 23

ARIES (March 21-April 19): “It takes a lot of courage to be the same person on the outside that you are on the inside.” Author Barbara De Angelis made that observation. I offer it up to you as a fun challenge. During the coming weeks, you may be strongly tempted to be different on the outside than you are on the inside. On the other hand, you’ll have the necessary insight and valor to remain unified. In fact, you may ultimately create more congruence between your inside and outside than you have in a long time.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): “People who deny the existence of dragons are often eaten by dragons. From within.” Fantasy author Ursula K. Le Guin made that observation, and now I’m conveying it to you just in time for the season when you’ll need it most. Please note that I am not predicting you’ll be devoured by dragons from within. In offering you this oracle, my hope is that you will: 1. acknowledge the existence of metaphorical dragons; 2. locate where they hang out in your inner realms; 3. study them and get to know them better; 4. devise a strategy for dealing with them safely.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): “Don’t let them tame you,” advised flamboyant Gemini dancer Isadora Duncan. Who did she mean by “them”? The mainstream critics, who might have wished she cultivated a less maverick style? Her managers and handlers, who may have wanted her to tone herself down so she could earn maximum amounts of money? Her friends, who cringed when she did things like dancing on a table wearing an evening dress at a party? In accordance with astrological omens, Gemini, I invite you to take a survey of what influences might wish you were more docile, mild or manageable. And then meditate on how you could consistently express the healthiest kind of wildness.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In the Yoruba religion of Ifà, the English word “heart” has two different meanings and words. So says Yoruba priest Awó Falokun Fatunmbi. The first heart is the organ that pumps blood through our bodies. It’s called okàn. Within the okàn is the second heart: a power center that regulates the flow of emotions. It’s called ègbè. I believe your ègbè will be exceptionally strong and clear and generous in the coming weeks, Cancerian. Your capacity to feel deeply and truly will be a gift to all those with whom you share it. It will also have the potential to enhance your appreciation for your own mysterious life. Wield your ègbè with glee and panache!

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Ancient Greek philosopher Plato observed, “Do not train children to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.” The same principle applies to all of us adults who are committed to the goal of life-long learning. And according to my astrological analysis, it will be especially useful for you Leos to keep in mind during the coming weeks. It’s time to energize your education! And here’s the best way to gather the new teachings that are important for you to know: Follow what amuses your mind.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Christian author Frederick Buechner writes, “We are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves, and I believe that to love ourselves means to extend to those various selves that we have been along the way the same degree of compassion and concern that we would extend to anyone else.” Let’s make his thought your keynote for the next two weeks. Now is an excellent time to take a journey through your past to visit all the other people you have been. As you do attend to this poignant work, be generous with each of your old selves. Forgive them for their errors and praise their beauty. Tell them how much you love them. Thank them for how they have made possible the life you’re living now.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Seventy-nine-year-old Libran poet Robert Pinsky has had a triumphant life. He has published 19 books, including his own poems and essays, as well as translations of Italian and Polish poetry. For four years he served as the United States Poet Laureate. To what factors does he attribute his success? Here’s one: “Whatever makes a child want to glue macaroni on a paper has always been strong in me,” he testifies. He’s referring to the primitive arts-and-crafts projects he enjoyed while growing up. In accordance with astrological omens, I encourage you, too, to get in touch and commune with the primal roots of the things you love to do. Reconnect with the original expressions of your passion for life.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): “A single ego is an absurdly narrow vantage point from which to view the world,” wrote occultist Aleister Crowley. Author Gore Vidal agreed, saying, “Since no one can ever know for certain whether or not his own view of life is the correct one, it is absolutely impossible for him to know if someone else’s is the wrong one.” All of us can perpetually benefit from this counsel. And it will be especially healthy for you to heed during the next four weeks. Humility will be a superpower. Blessings will flow your way if you don’t need to be right all the time. As you refrain from regarding your own opinions as God’s holy decrees, you will generate good fortune for yourself.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): “It’s a rare gift, to know where you need to be, before you’ve been to all the places you don’t need to be.” Author Ursula K. Le Guin wrote that. I’m passing it on to you because I suspect you now possess the power to claim this rare gift. In the coming days, you don’t have to engage in endless evaluations of the numerous possibilities. You don’t have to risk falling victim to overthinking. Your clear, strong gut-hunches will tell you exactly where you need to be and how to get there.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Novelist Henry Miller was in many ways a quintessential Capricorn. He described himself as being “in love with love, always in search of the absolute, always seeking the unattainable.” Feelings like those are why your astrological symbol is the mountain goat that’s always climbing higher, questing toward the next pinnacle. At your best, you’re determined to keep striving for the brightest, the strongest, the truest. Sometimes you overdo this admirable imperative, but mostly it’s a beautiful quality. You are hereby authorized to express it with maximum wisdom and eagerness in the coming weeks.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “Go catch a falling star,” wrote poet John Donne (1572–1631) in his poem “Song.” “Tell me who cleft the Devil’s foot,” he went on to say. “Teach me to hear the mermaids singing.” He wasn’t being literal, but rather was indulging in poetic fancy to stretch his readers’ imaginations. I’m offering you the spirit of Donne’s poem, Aquarius, because you’re ripe to transcend your limited notions about what’s plausible and implausible. If you allow yourself to get extravagant and unruly in your fantasies, you may crack through shrunken expectations and break into a spacious realm of novel possibilities.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I don’t suggest you indulge daringly in sensual pleasures, cathartic exchanges of energy and intoxicating pursuits of relief and release. The pandemic mandates us to be cautious about engaging in unmitigated bliss—even though the astrological omens suggest that if now were a normal time, such activities would be well worth focusing on. How can you resolve this dilemma? Possibilities: 1. Experiment zestfully with your live-in steady or spouse. 2. Get a Covid-19 test with a potential playmate, and if you both test negative, celebrate boisterously. 2. Round up a dazzler with whom you can generate rapture via Zoom. 3. Fantasize about delightfully gracious debauchery. 4. Go solo.

Homework: In your fantasy, create an alternate version of yourself with a different name and a different life. freewillastrology.com.

Bonny Doon’s Olright Creates Tribute to Community After Fire Evacuations

Aaron Carnes

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September 22, 2020

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Bonny Doon’s Olright Creates Tribute to Community After Fire Evacuations

In March of 2019, Bonny Doon-based beatmaker (and KZSC DJ) Olright drove up Empire Grade, admiring the natural beauty of his mountain town, and snapped some photos. For a year or two, he’d been thinking a lot about how his music was inspired by his surroundings and wanted to create some kind of artistic homage to Bonny Doon.

“Location dictates your vibration,” Olright says. “I definitely appreciate the nature up here and feel that that beauty maybe can be reciprocated in music.”

He’d recorded some tracks, but didn’t have a finished product. Then last month, he and the rest of Bonny Doon were evacuated from their homes. For a couple of weeks, he stayed at a friend’s house in Midtown Santa Cruz. Being displaced from his home inspired him to revisit his Bonny Doon project. Within a week, he finished up some songs and made new ones. On Aug. 28, he released the Bonny Doon EP, using those pre-fire photos from earlier this year as its album cover.

Though the songs are instrumental—aside from vocal samples—the titles evoke strong emotions of the fire in the Santa Cruz Mountains and his period of displacement: “Can’t Make Me Leave” and “In Charred Earth.”

Musically, it’s a trance-inducing collage of funky drum beats, floating guitar licks, psychedelic keys, and washed out soulful vocal snippets. The closing song, “Be All Right,” is perhaps the most meditative tune on the record, evoking not so much optimism for the future as a sense of peace.

For Olright, everything that was happening in Bonny Doon weighed heavily on his mind as he assembled the record, even if it’s unclear to listeners.

“Composing a song is a slightly different headspace that you get into when you make a beat. A lot of beat-making stuff, you find something that sounds dope to you and you’re chasing that,” Olright says. “Basically, the song’s intention means whatever you were thinking about while you were doing that, during that process of being inspired.”

His feelings about the whole experience are complex. Part of him—while glad he and his neighbors were safe—felt a sense of defiance for being forced out of their homes, and not let back into their neighborhoods for weeks. This is felt strongest on the subtly angry opening track, “Can’t Make Me Leave,” which contains a sample of a man saying: “I’ll do what you ask me to do if you ask me to. But if you tell me I gotta do it, I don’t know what it is, but there’s something inside me that says…” and then the incomplete phrase hangs in the air as the beat continues.

“There was a certain amount of antagonism from being kicked out. Like we want to go back there and defend our spot, and the police are making it harder to do that,” Olright says. “I know there are safety and certain citizens’ shenanigans, but people have the right to make these decisions. If you choose to stick around to defend what is yours, to be honest, I think you should be allowed to do that. If that endangers you, that’s a personal choice.”

He’s finally back in his home, which is fortunately still intact. With the record out, he wants to help Bonny Doon in any way that he can. He’s donating proceeds of sales for his album to the Bonny Doon Community School Foundation and the Bonny Doon Family Fire Relief.

Even with the rebuilding process underway, there’s still a sense of confusion on how to process everything, and what to do next.

“We’re all trying to make do. Everyone has their own stories and struggles. I feel very blessed to have a lot of positive traction even though things are still a mess up here,” Olright says. “There’s something to be said about the resilient nature of the people up here. That people are used to living without cell phones working, but it’s so beautiful that it’s worth it. That kind of vibe will help people come back stronger, I hope.”

Olright can be heard every Sunday from 4-6 pm on 88.1FM KZSC. For more info on Olright, go to instagram.com/olrightolrightolright.

Exploring the Bold Flavors Served at The Hollins House

Christina Waters

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September 22, 2020

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Exploring the Bold Flavors Served at The Hollins House

Fun to eat, exciting to look at, and every bite delicious—that’s the way John-Paul Lechtenberg creates his menu up at Pasatiempo’s The Hollins House.

I’ve always loved the view from the top of the greens at Marion Hollins’ estate. Had it not been so foggy the night we craved Lechtenberg’s cooking, we could have enjoyed that view of the day from the dining terrace stretching along the championship golfer’s gracious house.

Last week we ran up to get a takeout dinner, and sure enough it was as memorable as ever. It always amazes me how close Pasatiempo is to downtown Santa Cruz. Less than four minutes. And after last week’s dinner I’ll be heading up there more often.

A plump portion of octopus had been grilled to tender perfection, accompanied by spicy slices of Spanish chorizo, the perfect foil for the mild-flavored cephalopod. Large slices of herb roasted potato accompanied the octopus, along with seriously garlicky arugula pesto and a little salad of bitter greens and bright purple radishes ($28). Here’s a kitchen that respects this delicacy. Every time we taste octopus as good as this we always swap travel memoirs about Crete.

An order of the house burger showed off the chef’s expertise with perfectly grilled beef, housemade brioche bun, and condiments ($16). The plump patty of ground chuck arrived topped with melted swiss and cheddar cheeses, plus garlic aioli, thinly-sliced bread and butter pickles and deluxe onion jam. House made catsup and a side of outstanding fries filled up the rest of the to-go box. The fries disappeared rapidly.

These were orders that traveled well and dished up easily onto our own plates. The next day we split another dish from Hollins House, allegedly an appetizer order of housemade bratwurst that was large enough for an entree. Arranged in substantial slices, the brat sat on purple braised cabbage studded with raisins so good I could have eaten it as the main course. With the robust sausage came more relishes—spiced mustard seeds, a tomato relish, garlic mayo, and more of the excellent pickles. Three thick slabs of char-grilled sourdough bread accompanied this hearty meal for $18.

I find myself reaching for muscular adjectives when describing these dishes from the hand of chef Lechtenberg. Oh, he knows his way around delicate diver scallops, ricotta gnocchi, and Dungeness crab cakes. But it’s his way with bold, unapologetic flavors that we have come to crave. Dinner reservations, for amply spaced indoor seating or patio dining, are a must.

The Hollins House, 20 Clubhouse Road, Santa Cruz. Thursday-Sunday, 4-7:30pm. For takeout call 831-459-9177. thehollinshouse.com.

Ser Tasting Room, at 10 Parade St. in Aptos Village, is now open for indoor tasting, serving 12 people at a time with distanced seating. Since food is required to accompany indoor tasting, participants are encouraged to have a meal brought in or delivered from local favorites such as Cafe Sparrow, Aptos St. BBQ, Akira, Betty Burgers, and Mentone—all within walking distance. Outdoor patio seating is also available for wine tasting. Friday 3-7pm, Saturday-Sunday noon-7pm. Reservations at serwinery.com or 831-616-6062.

Brunch is anything but boring at East End Gastropub. Yes, you can find mouthwatering potato and eggs specialties, classic waffle creations, and Eggs Benedict variations. But there are also unexpected possibilities such as grilled halloumi salad, Huevos con Elote crab omelette with grilled corn, chipotle crema, and avocado puree, fried chicken bao buns, and Jersey pork roll sandwich. Brunch with a multi-culti accent. Get brunch takeout or order a mimosa and enjoy on the heated patio Saturday-Sunday, 10am-3pm.

1501 41st Ave., Capitola. eastendpub.com.

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