A Taste of 8 Emerging Santa Cruz Winemakers

Christina Waters

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July 16, 2019

A Taste of 8 Emerging Santa Cruz Winemakers

On Sunday, July 21, Soif Winebar and Merchants will bring together a galaxy of the newest winemakers in Santa Cruz for a unique afternoon tasting. The Santa Cruz Mountains was one of the state’s first American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), and today a new generation of winemakers continues to reveal the terroir of the area through sustainable, biodynamic and non-traditional practices. This Sunday at Soif offers an incredible opportunity to meet eight of these winemakers.

Alexis Carr—who started at Soif two years ago and now serves as wine shop manager—grew up in Santa Cruz, went off to school in Vancouver and earned a master’s degree in biodynamic strategies. She has up-and-coming winemakers on her radar.

“Santa Cruz wine and food is such a tight community,” she says. “I began making friends with the new winemakers who always invited me to come and try some of their wines.” What she tasted was terrific. Carr was impressed by how “crazy brave” it was for so many young entrepreneurs to put their energy into sustainable and biodynamic wine practices. “It takes heart and soul to do this,” she says.

On July 21, eight winemakers will present and pour their wines, accompanied by bread, cheeses and small bites by Soif chef Tom McNary. (Featured wines will also be available for purchase.)

Among the featured winemakers will be Ryan Stirm, who studied viticulture, eonology and sustainable agriculture at Cal Poly before working in wineries in California, Australia and Austria. Stirm Wine Company specializes in Grüner Veltliner, Pinot Noir and award-winning Riesling made from old-vine grapes.

Keegan Mayo of Assiduous Wines was born on the Big Island of Hawaii but moved to Santa Cruz at age 8. Mayo learned his craft at UC Davis, Mumm and in New Zealand before returning to create wines from organically farmed vineyards.

Florèz Wines was founded by James Jelks in 2017. Born in Santa Cruz, Jelks went through the UC Davis viticulture and enology program, then worked around the globe before coming back to produce wine in Santa Cruz County using organic and dry farming practices.

Madson Winemaker Cole Thomas was an organic vegetable farmer before turning his hand to wine. Working with Jeff Emery of Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard, Thomas expanded his wine knowledge. He met viticulturist Ken Swegles while bottling wine, and together they launched Madson Wines.

Margins Wine produces low-intervention wines using grapes from underrepresented regions, vineyards and varietals. Winemaker Megan Bell is committed to locating sustainably farmed vineyards and earned her degree in viticulture and enology from UC Davis before apprenticing in Napa, the Willamette Valley, New Zealand, and France’s Loire Valley.

Ryan Stirm and Andrew Nelson from San Luis Obispo’s Lapis Luna Wines will represent Companion Wine Co., a collaboration among Central Coast winemakers. The endeavor celebrates terroir-driven, natural wine with an emphasis on Riesling.

Samuel Louis Smith Wines sources grapes from sustainably managed vineyards throughout the Central Coast. Winemaker Sam Smith, also head winemaker at the historic Morgan Winery, learned to make natural wine in New Zealand, Australia and France.

Stagiaire (from the French word for apprentice) makes wines exclusively from organic vineyards crafted by winemaker Brent Mayeaux. After learning to farm and make wine naturally in New Zealand, Australia and France, Mayeaux moved back to the U.S. to produce his own wine.

New Wave Santa Cruz Winemakers, July 21 from 1-4 p.m. at Soif, 105 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. soifwine.com.

Music Picks: July 17-23

Aaron Carnes

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July 16, 2019

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Santa Cruz County live music picks for the week of July 17

WEDNESDAY 7/17

JAM ROCK

CALIFORNIA KIND

What makes a jam band work is equal parts knowing your fellow musicians, plus a healthy dose of just-for-the-hell-of-it chaos. Like the name suggests, California Kind gives listeners all the highs when life gets them low. Maybe that’s because the band’s roots run deep in modern rock music, featuring members who have played with Rod Stewart, Bruce Hornsby, John Fogerty and many more. As a group, they’ve worked with Warren Haynes, Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, just to name just a few of the original heads. Watch for a debut album later this year. MAT WEIR

8 p.m. Michael’s on Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $15 adv/$20 door. 479-9777.

THURSDAY 7/18

INDIE

COSMO GOLD

You know a band is chill if they hang out in the bathtub together. I’m not sure if it’s something Cosmo Gold do on the regular, but you can see the band hanging out in the tub with bored expressions and delightfully ’70s yellow outfits in the new video for “Drown The Fly.” It’s a low-key, indie-pop ditty with upbeat ’70s, quasi-disco grooves pumping along while singer Emily Gold sings, “I am so scared to die.” Gold is the daughter of ’70s pop-rock hit-maker Andrew Gold (“Thank You For Being a Friend”), and has been playing music as a solo artist for a while. She formed Cosmo Gold as a full-on collaborative band earlier this year. AARON CARNES

9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $5. 429-6994.

FRIDAY 7/19

ROCK

MOON EATER

Local four-piece rock outfit Moon Eater released a killer self-titled record in 2012 that straddles the line between punk fury and blues-rock precision, ripping up and shredding every riff like a pissed-off Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Then in August 2013, the group played its final show as members moved away. Now the band is once again rocking and rolling Santa Cruz with six years of pent-up energy. If you weren’t around the scene back then but love meaty guitar licks, the band will be more than happy to adopt you for the night. AC

9 p.m. Poet And The Patriot, 320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. Free. 426-8620.

FOLK-ROCK

AMY HELM

The list of artists who’ve asked Amy Helm to sing on their records is astounding. Roseanne Cash, Steely Dan, Mercury Rev, Chris Smither, the Holmes Brothers, the Band. OK, well, that last one is kind of a gimme, since Helm’s dad does happen to be Leon Helm, the late drummer for the Band. After his death, she carried on the Midnight Ramble series of concerts at “the Barn” on his Woodstock, New York property. While she’s been surrounded by fame, she deserves to be discovered for is her own music. She started out in the alt-country band Ollabelle and released her second solo album last year. Anyone who likes her father’s music—and by that, I mean everyone—will appreciate how Helm has inherited the Band’s talent for soulful, rootsy rock with a fantastic beat. Her vocals only seem to get more gorgeous as she matures as a performer. STEVE PALOPOLI

7:30 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $25 adv/$40 gold circle. 427-2227.

SATURDAY 7/20

ALTERNATIVE

TOMMY GUERRERO

Famous as an original member of skate team Bones Brigade, Tommy Guerrero has also played guitar and bass since the late ’70s. With varied influences from Joy Division to Coltrane, Guerrero’s albums reflect the full gambit of his musical tastes. Lately, his explorations have taken an ethno-jazz, Afrobeat direction. The album Road to Knowhere is like a long, dusty drive through Death Valley, when the pavement turns to gravel and the GPS no longer works. Maybe you’re lost, maybe not. Maybe it’s about how far you’re willing to go. AMY BEE

9 p.m., Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $15 adv/$20 door. 479-1854.

COMEDY

SAM TRIPOLI & EDDIE BRAVO

Is the Queen of England really a Reptilian? Did pop sensation Avril Lavigne really die (or get whacked!) just to be replaced by a clone? For anyone intrigued by these dire questions, DNA’s Comedy Lab welcomes conspiracy theorists, writers and comedians Sam Tripoli and Eddie Bravo to discuss, debate and laugh at some of today’s hottest conspiracies. Along with hosting the Punch Drunk Sports podcast, Tripoli also hosts the Tin Foil Hat podcast, and Bravo is known for his many appearances on the Joe Rogan Experience (not to mention training Rogan in jiu-jitsu, the highest credential for conspiracy experts in some circles). MW

7 and 9:30 p.m. DNA’s Comedy Lab, 155 River St., Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. (530) 592-5250.

SUNDAY 7/21

BLUES

SUGARAY RAYFORD

In just about every sense, Sugaray Rayford is a towering figure. At 6’5 and 300 lbs., the ex-Marine is a commanding presence without even saying a word. But when you add in his voice (a soulful bellow, halfway between a croon and a wail) the native Texan could make a stadium go quiet. In May, the singer was named Soul Blues Male Artist of the year by the Blues Music Awards. Coming just months after the release of Somebody Save Me, it’s a banner year for one of the looming voices in modern blues. MH

4 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $15 adv/$20 door. 479-1854.

ROCK

BENMONT TENCH

Benmont Tench might be the actual heart of rock’n’ roll. His catchy keyboard and organ riffs are all over the classics—not just as part of his old group, Tom Petty’s Heartbreakers, but also on albums from U2, Warren Zevon, Elvis Costello, Neil Diamond, Bonnie Raitt, and many, many more. There’s no way some of those venerated songs would be what they are without Tench and his boisterously fervid keyboard talents. His solos are as good as the rest, with a gently gruff voice, kinda like a mellowed-out Petty (if that’s possible) and simple lyrics and melodies that hit the heart with every beat. AB

8 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $40 adv/$45 door. 427-2227.

MONDAY 7/22

KIM NALLEY: PAYING RESPECT TO ARETHA

It might seem strange that Kim Nalley, the commanding San Francisco jazz and blues vocalist, is paying tribute to the Queen of Soul. But before Aretha earned her crown with her iconic Atlantic hits, she spent 1961-66 recording for Columbia in the mold of a contemporary jazz singer focusing on standards, blues and pop tunes (including a tribute to Dinah Washington). Nalley can sing it all, putting a personal stamp on just about any tune. Her not-so-secret weapon is a stellar band featuring ace bassist Michael Zisman, highly responsive drummer Kent Bryson, and the soul-steeped pianist Tammy Hall, a brilliant accompanist. ANDREW GILBERT

7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $31.50 adv/$36.75 door. 427-2227.

Love Your Local Band: Karla Hutton

Aaron Carnes

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July 16, 2019

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Local singer-songwriter Karla Hutton recalls the second song she ever wrote, “Spaces In Between.”

She wrote it while a friend was going through cancer treatment. As she processed the experience, she thought a lot about the ordinary moments this friend was missing out on.

“It was just something I chose to express about a person’s relationship to time, and what means the most,” Hutton says. “Those little moments in between are really the life that we take for granted: working in the garden, driving to work, walking on the beach. The little stuff that adds up.”

The song is an emotive folk song that she wrote five years ago when she attended a songwriting camp at Yosemite after flirting with songwriting for years. Even though she was used to writing—she’s owned a marketing company for 25 years—she didn’t think of herself as a songwriter.

“I kind of got hooked,” Hutton says. “I decided to go for it.”

She continued to write songs from her experiences, as well as moments she’s witnessed from the people around her. “Why We Stay” is another songs she’s really proud of. It tells the stories of three people that chose to stay in situations instead of running away, including a married couple that stay together for the kids and a Paradise fire survivor.

“I don’t write love songs. I don’t write happy-go-lucky songs. I write about things that move me and move my heart emotionally,” Hutton says. “That’s the energy I need to express. I want to be able to evoke an emotion that resonates with me and hopefully it resonates with an audience.”

Film Review: ‘Wild Rose’

Lisa Jensen

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July 16, 2019

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If the Jeopardy answer is “Three chords and the truth,” the question must be, “What is country music?” Rose-Lynn Harlan, the hard-luck young heroine of the musical melodrama Wild Rose, believes this so strongly she has the phrase tattooed on her arm. A freewheeling saloon singer in a backwater honky-tonk, Rose dreams of country stardom in Nashville—not an unusual dream, but dang near impossible for Rose-Lynn, who is stuck in her native Glasgow, Scotland, half a world away.

Directed by Tom Harper from an original script by Nicole Taylor, Wild Rose begins on the day Rose-Lynn (Jessie Buckley) is released from prison after serving a one-year sentence for bad behavior. After a pit stop at her boyfriend’s house for a quick tumble, she heads home to the housing project where her disapproving mum Marion (Julie Walters) has been raising Rose-Lynn’s two estranged little kids (named Wynonna and Lyle) in her absence.

Bounced out of her former singing gig at the neighborhood country saloon and forced by the fed-up Marion to finally take responsibility for the children she hardly knows, Rose-Lynn has to accept a day job cleaning house for classy, upscale Susannah (Sophie Okonedo). Turns out the easily distracted Rose-Lynn is miserable at motherhood, and an unreliable employee. (As soon as Susannah leaves the house, Rose-Lynn starts sampling her cosmetics, her liquor and her stash—for which there are no consequences whatsoever. The filmmakers just seem to think it’s a cute interlude.)

All Rose-Lynn cares about is the music, and pursuing her obsession of getting to Nashville by any means necessary. Since she doesn’t write her own songs, or even play an instrument, her entire country persona is borrowed from other artists and their music. (Songs by John Prine, Emmylou Harris, Kate and Anna McGarrigle, and Wynona Judd, among others, are covered by Buckley on the soundtrack.)

And yet she’s only a bit daunted when somebody suggests to her that the only way to achieve her dream is to start telling her own story. Ultimately, the narrative works through its familiar changes to circle back to that tattoo: how much truth (especially about herself) can Rose handle?

Taylor’s script asks us to suspend a great deal of disbelief, and not always willingly. Buckley is a powerful singer with a gutsy stage demeanor, but it’s not entirely plausible that Rose-Lynn inspires such ardent devotion in everyone on the evidence of a single song or demo. (Okay, maybe her mother—except that in this story, her Mum is her harshest critic.) It’s a bit much when she persuades a staid barrister to go to court in hopes of getting her probation ankle bracelet removed by taking him to see her act at the saloon, where he starts rocking out.

When Rose-Lynn gives Susannah a few country music recommendations, Susannah becomes smitten with the genre literally overnight. (“I can’t stop listening!” she gushes.) She’s also smitten with Rose-Lynn herself, and instantly devotes all of her energy and resources to the would-be star’s career. At a climactic performance, even those with whom Rose-Lynn has most severely burned her bridges turn out to cheer her on. And while Taylor’s plot rolls out a familiar refrain of rift, reversal and resolution, the storytelling plateaus don’t always feel earned.

Rose-Lynn’s oblivious self-absorption is wearying at times. Still, the movie often entertains with cheeky attitude, occasional flights of musical fantasy and droll dialogue (when you can penetrate the characters’ thick Scottish dialects). When Susannah’s young twins appear out of the blue, the startled Rose-Lynn gasps, “It’s like The Shining!” As she dances around Susannah’s house with the vacuum, singing away, imaginary back-up musicians start appearing around every corner, adding their licks.

Those who are already fans of the genre will get the most out of Wild Rose, as uncluttered and predictable as a country lament.

WILD ROSE

**1/2 (our of four)

With Jessie Buckley, Julie Walters and Sophie Okonedo. Written by Nicole Taylor. Directed by Tom Harper. A Neon release. Rated R. 101 minutes.

Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s Screwball ‘Pride and Prejudice’

Christina Waters

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July 16, 2019

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Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s Screwball ‘Pride and Prejudice’

Kate Hamill’s madcap romp through the jewel in Jane Austen’s literary crown, Pride and Prejudice, had the Santa Cruz Shakespeare opening night audience laughing out loud. A lot.

Part farce, part Monty Python, part game-show sitcom, this two-and-a-half hour spin on Austen’s romantic comedy of manners loads its deck with cross-casting, cross-dressing and screwball antics. Playing multiple roles, eight actors work briskly through the tale of neurotic Mrs. Bennett (Carol Halstead), a country woman with upscale ambitions, desperately seeking at least one well-heeled husband for her quartet of unmarried daughters. Once the long-suffering Mr. Bennett (a wonderful Allen Gilmore) dies, the family will be left penniless, hence Mrs. Bennett’s hunger for an eligible bachelor.

The turmoil of locating husbands unfolds on an enchanting set whose circular window revealed the moon rising through the eucalyptus groves throughout the opening performance. Except for the central figure Lizzie (Allie Pratt), who finds the game of snaring a husband to be repugnant, the Bennett daughters are highly available; youngest Lydia (a deft Madison Pullins), Jane (Karen Peakes) considered the prettiest, and Mary (Landon Hawkins) considered the least likely to attract a suitor.

Hawkins transforms himself onstage from a pigtailed wig and garish green gown into the handsome Mr. Bingley, who along with his sister (Ian Merrill Peakes) has just moved into the neighborhood, to the wheezing delight of Mrs. Bennett. The Bennett girls meet Bingley and his friend—the awkward, handsome Mr. Darcy (Lindsay Smiling)—at a neighborhood ball, and the game of class conflicts and rigid courtship codes of Regency England begins.

As a savvy postmodern playwright, Hamill is keen to point out how little things have changed since Austen’s day, when women were taught that destiny entailed marriage, period. And her approach involves great helpings of parody, slapstick and often-delicious sight gags in which characters switch in and out of drag with the pace of an ’80s Times Square disco. Opening night’s audience roared its approval during both acts, but especially the second, when the comedy was more acutely pitched against the seriousness of Austen’s social insights. As an irreverent deconstruction of the novel, Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice is full of fun, though not all of it equally successful.

Moving fluidly in and out of no fewer than three different characters, Ian Merrill Peakes owns many of the choicest moments. As the suave and ultimately chastened Mr. Wickham, he is elegant and seductive. As the hard-drinking sister of Bingley, he is a vision of drag perfection, providing a jaundiced counterpoint to the histrionic Mrs. Bennett. And as the country pastor coming to woo the lovely Lizzy, he is comic perfection. Armed with twitches, bodily mannerisms and vocal dazzle that John Cleese would kill for, Peakes reduced the opening night’s audience to tears of laughter. Genius.

I longed for more chemistry between the play’s central character, the smart and sensible Lizzy Bennet, and her adversary-turned-suitor Mr. Darcy. The connection between the actors, Pratt and Smiling, should tighten as the season continues. Here, as in other places, the director’s choices seemed ambivalent. And the scenes with the outrageously upper-crust Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Pullins again) fell into the cracks between camp, farce and social commentary, without illuminating any of those ideological strands.

The play itself—intent upon hilarity with a modern spin, while at the same time underscoring Austen’s social wisdom—seemed uncommitted to any particular point of view. And in that, it showed its 21st-century sensibility.

Pride and Prejudice offers a meaty and engaging evening’s entertainment. A feast for the eyes, thanks to costumer B. Modern and scenic designer Dipu Gupta, it will give fans of Jane Austen much food for thought and amusement.

‘Pride and Prejudice’ by Kate Hamill and directed by Paul Mullins, adapted from the novel by Jane Austen, runs at Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s Grove in DeLaveaga Park through Aug. 3. santacruzshakespeare.org.

Downtown Forward Promotes Vision for New Library and Garage

Local News

Jacob Pierce

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July 11, 2019

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Downtown Forward Promotes Vision for New Library and Garage

Speaking under the shade of the Museum of Art and History’s rear wall, Martín Gómez made a plea for a new downtown space. He envisions a mixed-use library beneath five floors of parking and housing. The structure will be compliant with the American Disabilities Act, he said.

“We want a space that that is ADA-accessible,” said Gómez, a boardmember for the Friends of Santa Cruz Public Libraries. “We want a space that is safe and secure, and we want a space that people can be proud of.”

Gomez is part of the brand new campaign Downtown Forward, which launched today in the museum’s Secret Garden, just around the corner from Abbott Square. Serving as Los Angeles’ city librarian from 2009-2010, Gomez turned around L.A.’s struggling library system during a time of budget cuts in the midst of the Great Recession, before going on to serve as vice dean of libraries for USC. After moving to Santa Cruz, he served on the Downtown Library Advisory Committee, which voted unanimously to recommend building a new mixed-use library downtown with funds from a bond measure that voters approved in 2016.

Members of the former advisory committee have cited concerns about the current library, including its unusual layout, poor wiring, asbestos in the walls, inadequate plumbing, code issues, rodent problems, and a faulty heating and air conditioning system. Supporters are hoping the city builds a new state-of-the-art library like ones in Los Gatos, Half Moon Bay and Watsonville.

Other supportive speakers at the event included Santa Cruz City School Board President Deb Tracy-Proulx, affordable housing advocate Diana Alfaro, former Farmers Market Boardmember Rena Dubin, and Atlantis Fantasyworld owner Joe Ferrara, who’s a downtown commissioner.

Downtown Forward’s vision includes the new mixed-use library, along with a new permanent site for the Wednesday downtown Farmers Market, which is currently held in the Cedar Street lot that’s been slated for the possible structure. The new market would be on Front Street. Even though the city would build more parking, the town won’t actually have more parking spaces units per housing unit, according to projections outlined by Jim Burr and Claire Fliesler with the city of Santa Cruz, because old surface lots are getting redeveloped into apartment complexes.

Opponents argue that environmentally friendly Santa Cruz doesn’t need to be building new parking lots at a time when transportation is moving away from single-occupancy car trips. Many felt blindsided after supporting library bond measure, only to find out that the new library might ultimately be combined with a garage. In the face of community concern, the Santa Cruz City Council sidelined the garage, while a council subcommittee does its own deep dive into the issue.

At the launch, 14-year-old Spencer Coontz said that he and his friends want a new downtown branch that will be welcoming to kids, providing a space for them to meet, study, socialize and work on projects—something he says is lacking from the current library. “We are eager for this new library to contribute to the fabric of our community by creating space for all of us,” Spencer said.

The launch was not without moments of tension.

“Did you write that?” a man barked out, after Spencer finished his remarks.

Spencer said that he did.

As the event was wrapping up, activist Elise Casby railed against the project.

“This is an outrage, and I have come to disrupt because of the lies that are being told,” she yelled. “An outrage!”

5 Things To Do in Santa Cruz: July 10-16

GT Staff

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July 10, 2019

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5 Things To Do in Santa Cruz: July 10-16

A weekly guide to what’s happening

Green Fix

ARTIFISHAL FILM SCREENING

Artifishal is Patagonia’s new documentary aimed at defending wild salmon and telling the story of the devastating cost of hatcheries and fish farms. In Santa Cruz, the wild salmon population is at a historical low due to drought. There used to be thousands of salmon running in the San Lorenzo, and if something isn’t done to protect the wild fish—not only in the county, but across the nation—there won’t be any fish left to catch. There will be Artifishal merch, including stickers and pint cups, available for purchase; all sales and donations benefit local nonprofit California Trout. Photo: Ben Moon.

INFO: 7 p.m. Thursday, July 11. Patagonia, 415 River St. #C, Santa Cruz. patagonia.com/santacruz. Free.

Art Seen

SUN PRINTING IN ABBOTT SQUARE

Summertime is the perfect time to make prints. The dry, sunny weather is ideal for drying and making sun prints, which utilize light and shadow. Choose any objects, leaves or maybe doilies, and arrange them on paper. Then, as the paper dries, the sun leaves behind the object’s shadow imprint. These prints make great wall decorations and unique gifts for all ages.

INFO: 1-3 p.m. Sunday, July 14. Museum of Art and History, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. santacruzmah.org. $10 includes museum admission, free for members.

Saturday 7/13

10TH ANNUAL HOP N’ BARLEY BEER & BBQ FESTIVAL

Each year, the Hop N’ Barley Beer Festival rounds up some top breweries, local and otherwise, for a celebration of beer, food and music. Celebrating their decade-long tradition of BBQ and brews, they say this is sure to be our biggest year yet, with more than 60 breweries and cideries, delicious BBQ and other great food, 40 vintage VW buses for any and all ooh and aahing pleasure, plus live bands and lawn games. The festival is kid and dog friendly, everyone is welcome.

INFO: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Scotts Valley Skypark, 361 Kings Village Drive, Scotts Valley. hopnbarley.org. $5 admission, $40 tasting.

Monday 7/15

BANN MI MONDAYS

Few sandwiches can compare to the banh mi. A classic, delicious example of why fusion food is fantastic, this Vietnamese sandwich is known for its flaky white bread, savory meat and crispy fresh veggies. Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery brings the vietnamese sandwiches from Banh Mi Oven—a San Jose favorite. There are three different types of choose from, including a vegetarian option. $8 for a sandwich and a pint of organic ale. Can’t make this one? No problem, the event is weekly, every Monday through the summer.

INFO: 7 p.m. Santa Cruz Mountain Brewery, 701 Ingalls St. #27, Santa Cruz. 425-4900. scmbrew.com. $8.

Saturday 7/13 and Sunday 7/14

A NIGHT AT THE THEATRE

Hamlet may be a tragedy, but Elf Empire Productions and the Food Lounge have once again joined forces to present a hilarious comedy version. The show tells the story of four Hamlet audience members, their expectations and the grand unravelling of their friendship. Andrea Mollenauer, the owner of the Food Lounge, will be preparing dinner. Dining costs included in ticket price.

INFO: 11:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, 5:30 Sunday. The Food Lounge, 1001 Center St., Santa Cruz. elfempire.brownpapertickets.com. $55.

Will Santa Cruz Get Its Fair Share of Homeless Money?

Jacob Pierce

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July 10, 2019

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Will Santa Cruz Get Its Fair Share of Homeless Money?

On topics like homelessness and public safety, a saying sometimes gets kicked around about the town of Santa Cruz that it’s “a small surf city with big-city problems.”

When it comes to doling out funds at the the state level, though, housing regulators and their chosen algorithms won’t find that argument convincing—certainly not in the current fiscal year.

Under a new state budget, Santa Cruz County will see a fresh round of homeless funding, although not as much as some advocates would have hoped for.

As California lawmakers finalized a budget late last month, a deal emerged between Democratic legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom. Under a new bill, the state is getting ready to hand out more than $2 billion in housing and homelessness funding this year, with $650 million in grants going to local governments to combat homelessness. Of that, $275 million, or 43 percent, will go to just 13 cities, all of them with populations over 300,000 residents.

The rest will go to counties and regional agencies like the Homeless Action Partnership, which is overseen by Santa Cruz County. Agencies and jurisdictions will apply for their share, and the Housing and Community Development Department will divvy up the money based on the homeless populations in each region’s point-in-time (PIT) count results.

That element raised some concern locally. That’s because, while many governments saw their counted homeless populations climb this year, Santa Cruz County’s fell slightly compared to two years earlier. That could mean an even smaller slice of homeless funds locally.

However, Russ Heimerich, a spokesperson for the Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency, assures GT that regulators are working on a process for governments to apply with PIT count numbers from 2017, when volunteers counted 3.6 percent more homeless individuals in the biannual census.

ENVIRONMENT FOR CHANGE

The new legislation includes a number of changes, including a provision to streamline the approval processes for some homeless facilities. New navigation centers will now be exempt from complying with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The bill defines navigation centers as “low-barrier” homeless shelters that are rich in services and that prioritize moving homeless individuals into permanent housing. In the midst of a housing and homelessness crisis, advocates have been fighting to tear down barriers to new housing and homeless facilities. Many argue that these barriers include not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) groups which weaponize environmental law to slow down otherwise popular projects in their neighborhoods. The Los Angeles Times editorial board recently criticized this process in a piece titled “Stop Using California’s Environmental Laws to Block Homeless Housing.”

Looking ahead, Santa Cruz County spokesperson Jason Hoppin says the county has a vision for a navigation center in North County and another in South County. “The community has to buy into that,” he says. “That’s where the rubber hits the road. There’s general consensus on the need for a navigation center. We just don’t know where at this point.”

When it comes to public input, Assemblymember Mark Stone (D-Scotts Valley) has concerns about the impact of bypassing CEQA, although he voted for the wide-ranging bill. He tells GT in a statement that CEQA gets unfairly blamed as an “as an impediment to solving homelessness.”

“It is an important law that ensures public participation in any land use decision,” the statement reads. Stone adds that he feels “disappointed” that more homeless dollars will not be coming to Santa Cruz County, compared with some other communities.

There was, however, a previous round of state funding awarded earlier this year that brought in more than $10 million locally for the homeless. Of that, the Homeless Action Partnership identified $1 million for a future navigation center. It also awarded the city of Santa Cruz $1.4 million to purchase land near the Homeless Services Center (HSC) with the intention of expanding services.

At the state level, the recent bill also includes a plan to introduce “bonus points” in grant application processes to communities that regulators deem pro-housing.

Perhaps the aspect of the bill that’s gotten the most attention is a change that could force some governments to pay fines for flouting state housing laws that require them to plan for new housing growth. Fewer than 50 cities are in violation, many of them rural communities and none of them in Santa Cruz County. On Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast, reporter Liam Dillon remarked that a city would have to thumb its nose at the state for years before facing any serious repercussions.

“It’s really hard to imagine a world where anything like this would actually come to fruition,” said Dillon, of the L.A. Times.

COUNTING ON IT

Phil Kramer, executive director of HSC, says that before the preliminary PIT count results came out, a slight dip in the homeless population was not what he’d been expecting.

“It doesn’t feel to us like there has been a decrease,” he says, still trying to make sense of the figures. “We were surprised by the numbers, yet gratified to see that there was a reduction.”

Hoppin says he believes the findings. Locals may have perceived homelessness to be soaring when the homeless encampment behind the Ross department store popped up, partly because it garnered so much coverage as it ballooned in size.

“There’s a cognitive bias that happens when there’s so much media attention,” says Hoppin, a former reporter for the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Peter Connery—vice president of Applied Survey Research (ASR), which manages the count— explains that he wouldn’t say that homlessness is down, necessarily. Rather, he frames the results as showing that homelessness has stayed about the same, falling by just 82 counted individuals to a total of 2,167 homeless people this year. The full census report will come out later this summer.

ASR oversees homeless counts for a dozen communities on the West Coast. For each count, the group sends volunteers and researchers to get a head count of the amount of homeless they can find one morning in January. Although ASR keeps its methods consistent from one year to the next and across all communities, Connery knows that the figures probably end up representing an “undercount.”

“There are probably folks on the day that we weren’t able to count,” he says, “but that’s probably true of any count that has a one-day scope.”

How Monterey Bay’s Giant Kelp Curb Iodine Deficiency

Georgia Johnson

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July 10, 2019

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How Monterey Bay’s Giant Kelp Curb Iodine Deficiency

Growing up on a boat, I often viewed seaweed as more of a nuisance than a solution. Sailors and boat dwellers alike see fields of seaweed as something to avoid—it’s particularly disposed to rudder entanglement—but local surfer, fisherman and seaweed farmer Ian O’Hollaren sees a field of opportunity.

“There are things in this life that we are given, that we figure out how to harvest from the natural world and create products out of them,” he says. “Seaweed is a food source to society.”

O’Hollaren is the founder of Santa Cruz-based Seaquoia Wild Seaweeds, which harvests and sells upwards of 10 different seaweed varieties for multipurpose use, from cosmetic to culinary. He’s been in business for around five years, collecting seaweed off the Santa Cruz coast.

O’Hollaren runs all of the collection, distribution and farmers market sales of fresh and dried seaweed. One of his newest ventures is iodine supplements derived from giant kelp. Iodine is a crucial mineral, and iodine deficiency occurs when the soil is poor in iodine, leading to a low iodine concentration in food products, according to a study by the US National Library of Medicine.

Iodine deficiency is one of the largest worldwide public health problems, according to the study. More than 1.5 billion people worldwide are estimated to be at risk of iodine deficiency disorders—particularly pregnant and breastfeeding women who require nearly double the amount of iodine than the average person. Iodine deficiency can lead to enlargement of the thyroid, hypothyroidism and mental disabilities in infants and children whose mothers were iodine-deficient during pregnancy.

“More and more people are suffering from hyopthyroid issues, it’s not isolated to any specific population but those issues are usually higher in middle-aged women,” O’Hollaren says. “There are so many factors associated with iodine. We thought this was going to be a smoothie supplement at first, but only 1/32 of a teaspoon is all you need, it’s that potent.”

Willd giant kelp grows abundantly year-round off the coast of Santa Cruz. It can grow up to two feet a day, live up to eight years, and is rich in vitamins, minerals, amino acids and more. O’Hollaren harvests the giant kelp in the Monterey Bay himself—taking care to only harvest only the top four feet of the plant so that it can regrow—and then sends it to a facility to be freeze-dried and bottled. The supplements are newly available at Santa Cruz farmers markets. At $25 for 60 capsules, 1 tablet a day is 100 percent of the FDA recommended daily value of iodine for the average person.

“We have gotten the best testimonials you could imagine,” he says. “People say they feel more energetic, more balanced. It regulates heart rate, breathing, metabolic function, hormone levels and more. There are two hormones produced in the thyroid: thyroxine and triiodothyronine, those hormones reach every cell in our body, so if those are functioning a lot of things aren’t working. It’s amazing, I had no idea about the importance of iodine until we sent the kelp into the lab to be analyzed.”

While kelp, particularly giant kelp, is more sustainable and fast-growing compared to some land-grown produce, O’Hollaren notes that, despite their location, kelp forests aren’t free from deforestation. “A lot of the kelp forests generally have been depleting,” he says. “All of California’s kelp forests have been declining over the last 20 years, but it’s my hope, by producing these small batch niche products from giant kelp, that we can bring awareness of the medicinal values for humans, [and] the environmental factors that threaten the kelp forests and the overall health of the ocean.”

O’Hollaren and his team started working on the supplement last fall, alongside their other culinary deliveries. He says he has seen interest in seaweed increase over the last few years,

in part due to the growth of the aquaculture market. “When you think about eating seaweed, what do you do with it? It’s a sea vegetable. There is a bit of a disconnect there because we aren’t used to it in our society,” he says.

Seaquoia is also working on making bath products, including an oversized giant kelp tea bag for baths. Sequoia Wild Seaweeds also delivers locally sourced seaweed to Santa Cruz restaurants like Home and 515 Kitchen.

O’Hollaren has hosted several New Leaf workshops on cooking with seaweed and exploring the benefits of different types. He says the farmers market booth has helped increase awareness and conversation around the uses and benefits of sea vegetables.

“Seaweed works well in every culinary cuisine, essentially—there’s not one thing you have to do with it,” he says, adding that some of his recipes include kelp burgers, fish tacos, curries and stir fry. “Some people say, ‘I have to find a recipe for this,’ and I always say, ‘Well, you can do that, but also what do you do with an onion or garlic and broccoli? You can add seaweed in with other vegetables, you aren’t just eating giant bunches of seaweed. It’s up to you and your imagination. Go where it takes you.”

seaquoia.com.

Vim’s Summer Menu Impresses

Christina Waters

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July 10, 2019

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The new Summer menu at Vim is full of impressive and tasty surprises.

An outstanding chicken breast marinated in spicy yogurt came with an addictive quinoa pilaf laced with almonds and golden raisins ($28). Brilliant pink pickled cabbage on one side, and electric orange harissa-spiced carrots on the other. Topped with feta and fresh mint. the chicken was as good as it sounds. Another new and welcome entrée showcased plump strips of skirt steak fanned across a vibrant pool of crimson romesco sauce ($29). A smart variation on beef and potatoes, the balsamic-infused steak was joined by a thicket of haricot verts and crisp roasted potatoes so good they could have given lessons. Seriously, these potatoes blew me away—a tribute to the chef’s skill and sensitivity with veggies of all kinds.

Our meal began with an early summer green salad (a welcome addition) crafted of tender lettuce from the Homeless Garden Project and pickled strawberries from Koch Farms ($14). The greens came atop a pool of creamy feta, flecked with crunchy pistachios and crowned with a boiled quail egg. The entire salad was tossed in a peppery balsamic dressing that had my dinner companion speaking in tongues. Chef Jesikah Stolaroff, a Culinary Institute of American grad, tends to use more rather than fewer ingredients—there is a copious crunch of pistachios and almonds—and often offers two sauces, rather than one. Some diners will enjoy this extra flavor complexity and intrigue. Others might find it unnecessary.

And on this, my second visit to Vim, I found the noticeably upmarket “butter board” ($21) featuring flavored cultured butters still the menu’s only path to bread. The popcorn provided as a bread substitute feels like a novelty rather than a creative addition to the rest of the outstanding menu items. Both entrée portions were large enough to make portion size a talking point throughout dinner.

We partnered our Vim dinner with glasses of excellent Termes Tempranillo 2015 ($11) and an earthy Costaripa Mazane 2015 ($14) and appreciated the generous pours—generous enough to last throughout our meal. I admit we did longingly admire the quartet of cocktails on the table across from ours in arboretum shades of pink, magenta and lime. Choosing desserts is a challenge at Vim, where the gamut wanders amongst fresh berry trifle, double chocolate fantasias and other intricate temptations. We succumbed to a shared order of the evening’s special warm apricot galette, large enough for most of the NBA’s free agents ($13). A tender crust surrounded warm apricots packed into a thin cream cheese foundation. The whole was liberally strewn with toasted pistachios—an inspired counterpoint to the sweet tang of warm apricots. But the whipped cream provided seemed mysteriously aerated. It tasted like genuine whipped cream, but was texturally light, rather than densely creamy as expected. For $13, freshly whipped cream is in order, especially with such a lovely pastry creation. The menu is coming along smartly in this very new dining room. And the summer season is clearly an inspiration for this chef, who deserves a setting as sophisticated as her abilities and ambitions. The ingredients—fresh, organic, local—tend (in most cases) to justify the pricy menu. If some of the huge portions were downsized, prices might be scaled accordingly. Vim’s summer menu gave us much to enjoy.

Vim Dining and Dessert, 2238 Mission St., Santa Cruz. Closed Tuesday. vimsantacruz.com.

SUMMER WINE

Alfaro Family Vineyards’ tasting room in a glorious vineyard setting is now open both Saturdays and Sundays, from noon-5 p.m. through August. Terrific picnic and exploring opportunities.

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New Wave Santa Cruz Winemakers, July 21 from 1-4 p.m. at Soif, 105 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. soifwine.com.

WEDNESDAY 7/17

JAM ROCK

CALIFORNIA KIND

8 p.m. Michael’s on Main, 2591 Main St., Soquel. $15 adv/$20 door. 479-9777.

THURSDAY 7/18

INDIE

COSMO GOLD

9 p.m. Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. $5. 429-6994.

FRIDAY 7/19

ROCK

MOON EATER

9 p.m. Poet And The Patriot, 320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. Free. 426-8620.

FOLK-ROCK

AMY HELM

7:30 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $25 adv/$40 gold circle. 427-2227.

SATURDAY 7/20

ALTERNATIVE

TOMMY GUERRERO

9 p.m., Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $15 adv/$20 door. 479-1854.

COMEDY

SAM TRIPOLI & EDDIE BRAVO

7 and 9:30 p.m. DNA’s Comedy Lab, 155 River St., Santa Cruz. $20 adv/$25 door. (530) 592-5250.

SUNDAY 7/21

BLUES

SUGARAY RAYFORD

4 p.m. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $15 adv/$20 door. 479-1854.

ROCK

BENMONT TENCH

8 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $40 adv/$45 door. 427-2227.

MONDAY 7/22

KIM NALLEY: PAYING RESPECT TO ARETHA

7 p.m. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $31.50 adv/$36.75 door. 427-2227.

WILD ROSE

ARTIFISHAL FILM SCREENING

SUN PRINTING IN ABBOTT SQUARE

10TH ANNUAL HOP N’ BARLEY BEER & BBQ FESTIVAL

ENVIRONMENT FOR CHANGE

COUNTING ON IT

seaquoia.com.

Vim Dining and Dessert, 2238 Mission St., Santa Cruz. Closed Tuesday. vimsantacruz.com.

SUMMER WINE

Alfaro, 420 Hames Rd., Watsonville. alfarowine.com.