When necessity meets community spirit, innovation follows—and for the Teen Kitchen Project, it’s a recipe for changing lives.
In 2012, Angela Farley was a Santa Cruz mom facing a family crisis. Her young son Charlie’s pediatric cancer treatment required a daily commute from Santa Cruz to UC San Francisco, and as hard as she tried to maintain a sense of normalcy, it was a struggle to get evening meals on the table. When a generous friend gifted her one year’s worth of blue plate specials from Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria, it felt like a lifeline.
After Charlie successfully completed treatment in May of 2012, Farley wanted to find a way to replicate the gift that nourished her family. She rallied her community—talking with everyone from farmers to nutritionists and chefs—and just four months later officially launched her first meal distribution to support local cancer patients on Sept. 11.
What started as a small batch of meals turned into something much bigger. The heartfelt responses lit a fire in her to keep the mission alive.
Realizing she needed help to scale, Farley began approaching local businesses for donations. The goal was to provide fresh, healthy fare to bolster patients’ immune systems. She worked with a chef to design balanced meals, and it didn’t take long for Live Earth Farms to step up as the project’s first major donor. Volunteers would go to the farmer’s market at closing to pick up unpurchased food, and then plan the meals around what was available.
That first year, from September through December, Farley and her small crew delivered 750 meals to patients in need. That number grew to 104,000 meals delivered in 2023. But here’s where the meals-on-wheels model varies. As the name implies, local teen volunteers receive culinary training to prepare meals from scratch using DASH—Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Designed to reduce sugar intake and help lower blood pressure, the diet focuses on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and low-fat dairy.
Understanding how diet affects disease doesn’t just empower students—it inspires them to make smarter food choices in their own lives. Farley’s informal survey reveals that teens now cook from scratch 40% more often at home, motivated not only by the health benefits but also by the flavors of the dishes they’ve learned to create.
Teen Kitchen meals provide more than just nourishment—they’re a lifeline for those battling diet-related illnesses, with each meal tailored to meet the recipients’ specific health needs. Most recipients receive a bag of food a week with seven main dishes and a diabetes-friendly dessert, while medical clients receive 14 meals.
Since most clients are seniors, teens also gain intergenerational knowledge. Students often share how empowering it feels to hear the stories of those they’re helping, realizing how much their support means to people facing challenges with cooking or shopping.
While Teen Kitchen Project spreads the word through school counselors and community service fairs, it’s the buzz among friends that truly drives teen volunteers to join the fun. With three cohorts each year, the fall session just kicked off and will wrap up in December, with sign-ups for the next round starting in November.
Recently Farley and her team have seen what she describes as a “huge increase in needs of people living with a critical or chronic situation.” This otherwise challenging reality creates new opportunities to keep growing with added staff and new digs on the horizon.
Before the pandemic, TPK used El Pajaro kitchen in Watsonville; now they rent space at Kitchen 831 in Santa Cruz. The organization is in the quiet phase of a capital campaign, raising funds to build a permanent space that will be a 10-minute walk from both Harbor and Soquel high schools.
Meals are distributed by “delivery angels,” who also provide a bit of company. And each meal comes with a beautiful bouquet—thanks to the generosity of Second Bloom Flowers, which collects post-event donations from Pebble Beach resorts. Farley shares a poignant story of a client who was moved to tears upon receiving flowers—his first ever. Plus, a partnership with Giant Berries means every meal is topped off with DASH-friendly desserts made from fresh fruit.
Farley says she’s far from alone in her endeavors, praising her supportive board and staff. And she gives extra kudos to the teens and clients. “Feeling cared for is the program’s biggest impact, and teens can see firsthand what a difference they make,” she says.
No, not just the election or Halloween. Before that.
I’m not making this up, but this week, from Oct. 16-18 at the UC Santa Cruz Center for Monster Studies there is a Festival of Monsters, a three-day intellectual celebration of all things monstrous.
This is one of those things, like our Grateful Dead Museum or our Oaxacan celebration, that makes me so appreciate where we live. There is so much culture here of all kinds and all spectrums of imagination and thought. This is the place I once saw a talk by the man who invented LSD. Not at the monster fest, but at the UC.
“What I’ve discovered in my research is if you ask people what monster they’re scared of the most, that is really a reflection of what they might be,” says organizer Dr. Michael “Doc” Chemers in Mat Weir’s cover story.
The only program of its kind in the country, the center is a collection of artists and scholars who have dedicated themselves to the study of monsters and how they have been defined and reinterpreted throughout human history across all cultures. People will be visiting here from all over the world to attend lectures, movies and a ghastly costume ball.
Once again SC is on the international map of the weird.
Another thing that has put the Cruz on the map is PinUp Productions, which for 20 years has been booking shows—punk, hardcore, metal, hip hop and everything in between—in Santa Cruz and throughout the Bay Area and California.
To celebrate, they’re putting on an all-out, 18-band extravaganza in the main room at the downtown Santa Cruz Vets Hall on Oct. 19. But for anyone trying to buy a ticket, secondhand is the only option as the show sold out in less than a week.
While we’re gearing up for the one-time kid’s holiday that has been co-opted by grownups, you’ll want to check out a theatrical ghost story, Lucky Time, a two-act psychological puzzle produced by Actors Theatre.
Christina Waters gives us the lowdown in her arts piece in this issue.
I can promise you will get some laughs and worries from this week’s cannabis column, where writer Dan Mitchell recounts the Keystone Cops–like comedy of police busting supposed growers of cannabis. There’s some real irony to the idea that cops who once busted marijuana users and growers are now supporting legal growers.
When you get the munchies, check out our food columns for some hot ideas.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
SEEING DOUBLE This was taken from the lane. I call it “Symmetry.” Photograph by Pete Bartlett
GOOD IDEA
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is designating the Chumash
Heritage National Marine Sanctuary, stretching from Monterey Bay past Point Conception. The first Indigenous-nominated national marine sanctuary, led by the Northern Chumash Tribal Council, it is expected to be complete by December 2024.
It will be the third-largest national marine sanctuary in the United States, the first Indigenous-nominated sanctuary, and the first new ocean sanctuary in over 30 years. It will prohibit new oil drilling and support climate solutions by promoting the health of ocean habitats that serve a host of vital ecosystem functions.
GOOD WORK
Arte del Corazón, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting local artists, is excited to host its 2nd Annual Calavera Ball on Oct. 19 at Veterans of Foreign
Wars, 1960 Freedom Blvd, Freedom. This fundraising event will bring together art lovers, dancers and supporters of the arts for an evening of music, celebration and cultural pride. It runs 6-10pm and includes cumbia, salsa, and bachata as well as a silent art auction, costume contest, an arcade, a cash bar and hors d’oeuvres.
Big Soda has spent decades convincing us that sugar-filled drinks are harmless. The reality is that sugar-sweetened beverages are driving up rates of childhood obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Measure Z, which enacts a 2-cent tax on large beverage distributors, can help change that.
Cities like Berkeley and Philadelphia have shown that SSB taxes work, reducing consumption and funding vital community programs. Nonetheless, Big Soda pours millions into misleading campaigns to protect their bottom line in the name of “affordability” and public well-being.
If these companies truly cared about public well-being, Coke and Pepsi wouldn’t top the list of plastic polluters worldwide. They’d support policies proven to lower Medi-Cal costs by reducing SSB consumption. They don’t care about tooth decay, rising health problems in low-income communities, or small businesses unaffected by these taxes. They only care about profit. Don’t let big soda buy your vote —vote Yes on Measure Z.
Rose Svonkin and Terrence Moore
VOTE YOUR CLIMATE
As the election draws closer, we cannot ignore the growing impact of climate change on our communities. Hurricane Helene and now Hurricane Milton, along with dozens of wildfires this past summer—they’re all clear warning signs of a very real climate crisis.
This issue deserves more attention than it’s received so far this election cycle. During the presidential debate, only one brief question was asked about climate at the very end.
The fact is, the climate crisis impacts us all, no matter where we live or how much money we make. Americans are being told to flee their homes and risk losing everything. Meanwhile, Big Oil continues to put profits over people by prioritizing fossil fuels that continue to destroy our environment.
We cannot afford to lose any more time in the fight against the climate crisis. We need leaders—at the federal, state and local level—who believe in the science of climate change and are willing or can be convinced to take bold action before it’s too late. So I urge everyone: When you cast your ballot this November, think of our planet and the people that call it home.
Daniel Voskoboynikov’s full-circle story of becoming Harbor Café’s owner started in college, when he bused and served there. After graduating, he worked in San Francisco for several years in business accounting before moving back to Santa Cruz to study for his CPA exam. Then the fork-in-the-road moment: the drummer in his old band told him his girlfriend’s stepfather was looking to sell Harbor Café.
“Opportunity knocked and I said, ‘Let’s party,’” Voskoboynikov says, closing the loop and fulfilling his childhood dream of small business ownership paired with passion for food and hosting.
For good times, Harbor Café is about it, whether it’s starting the party with a festive brunch or keeping the party going from the night before. The full bar pours drinks both classic and creative, and the vibes are laid-back with a distinctly nautical “quaint little shack” ambiance.
The breakfast/lunch menu is traditional American with twists, like the “heavy hitter” customizable breakfast burrito, the open-faced Cali Benedict with avocado on a croissant, and the dream-come-true churro Belgian waffle. Lunch favorites include burgers, salads and beer-battered fresh fish tacos with cabbage slaw and housemade tomatillo salsa.
What makes Harbor Café that local spot?
DANIEL VOSKOBOYNIKOV: It’s a very fun vibe here; we have a lot of longtime employees and we all work very well together. We cater to locals, tourists, families and even dogs, and pride ourselves on being very welcoming to everyone. Running a restaurant is difficult, but I truly love my job. My employees feel the same, and we have a lot of fun doing what we do here. We’re very grateful to our clientele. We have a lot of rad people coming through our doors.
Tell me more about your bar.
The bar manager, Jalen Horne, is a longtime employee who has done wonders with our beer and cocktail menu. One new banging thing we have is a slushy machine which allows us to serve our Cruising Coffee cocktail, a sweet refreshing whiskey coffee slush topped with horchata whipped cream. It’s a big hit with our guests. Jalen does a great job; he’s always sporting the freshest haircut, hair colors, tattoos and wardrobe. His whole vibe is cutting edge, from who he is to the drinks he curates.
535 7th Ave., Santa Cruz, 831-475-4948; harborcafesantacruz.com
I might lose some punk rock points for this, but as a child one of my core memories was watching the “Thriller” music video. The shuffling zombie corpses rising from graves and the sewers as body parts fell off was the most terrifying thing I had seen in all of my eight years.
I’m pretty sure I screamed. I definitely remember the sleepless nights of terror that followed.
I would later grow up to become fascinated by zombies, vampires, cryptids, demons, monsters and other things that go bump in the night. But I’ll never forget how I felt thinking about the horror of becoming a mindless ghoul.
“That doesn’t surprise me,” exclaims Dr. Michael “Doc” Chemers through the Zoom screen after I share this memory.
“Getting a sense of who you are just by looking at you—with your hair and tattoos—you’re very much an individual and express yourself as one. Becoming a zombie would mean giving up that individuality and becoming one of the horde.”
Chemers would know.
Along with having a Ph.D. in theater history and theory and being a professor of dramatic literature in UC Santa Cruz’s Theater Arts Department, Chemers is a (literal) monster scholar. He’s the author of several books, including The Monster in Theater History: This Thing of Darkness, the co-host of the podcast The Show Where They Talk About Monsters and the founding director of the UC Santa Cruz Center for Monster Studies.
MONSTER MASH Center for Monsters co-directors Michael Chemers and Renée Fox at the Monster Ball Photo: Jennifer Mahal
And this week, Oct. 16–18, the center is resurrecting its annual Festival of Monsters, a three-day intellectual celebration of all things monstrous.
“What I’ve discovered in my research is if you ask people what monster they’re scared of the most, that is really a reflection of what they might be,” Chemers explains.
Held at the UC Santa Cruz Digital Arts Research Center, the festival is free to students. For others, a $185 registration fee includes access to all panels, an afterparty and catered breakfast and lunch.
It all culminates Oct. 18 at the UCSC Haybarn with the Monsters’ Ball, a costumed dance party where boils, ghouls and non-binary alike can all do the mash.
“I’m really excited about the Monsters’ Ball,” exclaims Dr. Renée Fox, Ph.D., co-director of the Center for Monsters and the Dickens Project.
“The Monsters’ Ball is just fun,” she continues. “Especially since all these people are traveling from everywhere and they bring their costumes with them so they can come to the ball fully decked out.”
“We have a great time,” Chemers says. “We’ll have a bar with specialty monster-themed drinks, a DJ, and we just cut loose in a room full of monster scholars dressed as their monsters.”
Unnatural History
So, what exactly is the Center for Monster Studies?
The only program of its kind in the country, the center is a collection of artists and scholars who have dedicated themselves to the study of monsters and how they have been defined and reinterpreted throughout human history across all cultures.
It all began in 2019 when the university’s Humanities Institute held the FrankenCon, a three-day festival of artists, scholars and scientists that explored the legacy of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein for the novel’s 201st anniversary.
“The UCSC theater department did an adaptation of Frankenstein and they asked me if I would do a scholarly panel to accompany the play,” Chemers remembers. “So I started putting one together and it ballooned with so many people wanting to get involved.”
It resulted in Chemers creating a monster of an event spanning two days that included showings of the original 1931 and 1935 films, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, at the now-defunct DNA’s Comedy Lab. Although it wasn’t advertised under the same name, 2019’s event is considered the first Festival of Monsters.
“It was so popular that everyone wanted to do it again,” he says.
Unfortunately, of course, the Covid-19 global pandemic made sure it didn’t happen in 2020. While the pathogen spread, however, Chemers spawned a new idea. What if there could be a hub for academia to study the monsters that have always lurked behind the human mind?
Chemers—like most, if not all, of the festival panelists and speakers—has had a lifelong interest in horror as a way of reclaiming the power of identity.
GHOULING Remember the tabloids and their creepy headlines, with devils and monsters, at every checkout line? Photo: Jennifer Mahal
“I grew up Jewish in Utah in the ’70s, and that was a hard time and place to be Jewish,” he says. “Other kids would ask me where my horns were, and stuff like that. So I gravitated toward monsters even as a little kid because I thought, ‘If they aren’t going to let me be a part of things, then I’m going to identify with and be that monster instead of being afraid of it.’”
In 2021 he applied to the UCSC Office of Research for funding and a year later the Center for Monsters was established.
“When he looked around on campus to see what classes were being taught, and if there were any interest in monster studies, he discovered I was teaching all of the monster classes,” says co-direcftor Fox. An associate professor of literature at UCSC, Fox’s focus is on 19th-century literature, and last year she published The Necromantics: Reanimation, The Historical Imagination, and Victorian British and Irish Literature.
“I was teaching so many classes that centered on monsters and working on my book [about] reanimated corpses—and there can be nothing more monstrous than that. So he brought me on board,” Fox explains.
“We were friends before and then discovered we were both teaching classes, doing research on and publishing about monsters,” Chemers recalls. “She was so enthusiastic about creating and crafting the center, getting grants for it and coming up with cool ways of approaching different ideas that she became the co-director. We’ve been thick as thieves ever since.”
A full size replica of a terrifying movie creature is one of many scary sights at the Festival of Monsters.
The Abyss
Friedrich Nietzsche wrote, “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.”
He expressed that profound thought in 1886, and it’s just as true today as it was 138 years ago. No stranger to his own inner monsters—Nietzsche most certainly suffered from depression and some modern psychiatrists believe he was bipolar as well—it was precisely his own ability to gaze into his own abyss that gave him insight that still intrigues us today.
Monsters have always been with human beings, beginning in prehistoric days with drawing creatures on cave walls. The Greeks envisioned Medusa, with her stony gaze and snakes for hair, and the part-man, part-beast centaur. Aboriginal Australians spoke of Yara-ma-yha-who, a small red creature without teeth that swallowed its prey whole. In ancient Egypt the Serpopard—with its leopard body and snakehead—represented chaos beyond its borders. And don’t stay out after 2am in Japan, because the Gashadokuro–-giant, vengeful human skeletons with an endless hunger—feast upon the unsuspecting.
And then there are the ghosts.
“Ghosts are everywhere,” Chemers explains on Episode 2 of The Show Where They Talk About Monsters. “As far as I know, every human culture on Earth has ghost stories.”
In modern times, fictional monsters have become part of a horror industry that makes billions—if not more—worldwide. For instance take the foul-mouthed anti-hero, Freddy Krueger, from horror master Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street series. The entire franchise has made $472 million worldwide across nine films at the box office alone. That’s not including the short-lived Freddy’s Nightmares TV show, trading cards, T-shirts, action figures, bobble-heads, cosplay items, and more that’s come out over the past four decades (in fact, the original film celebrates its 40th anniversary this year).
Of course, Santa Cruz is the perfect setting for the fest, as we are no strangers to monsters, physical and fictional. One can point to atrocities throughout our area’s history such as the enslavement, rape and torture of Native Americans with the influx of colonizers. As the area grew and more people arrived, Asian immigrants were the new focus of racism and hate.
Fast forward to the 1970s, when Santa Cruz had not one but three serial killers: John Linley Frazier, Herbert W. Mullin and—most infamous of all—Edmund Kemper. This earned the city the nickname the “Murder Capital of the World,” a moniker that would be immortalized in pop culture by Joel Schumacher’s 1987 vampiric cult classic, The Lost Boys.
While it might be the most beloved horror movie filmed in Santa Cruz, it’s hardly the only one. One year after Schumacher’s film, Killer Klowns From Outer Space was released with locations filmed in Watsonville and Santa Cruz. More recently David Arquette’s 2006 slasher The Tripper was filmed in the redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains, and in 2019 Jordan Peele released Us, which he chose to film in the area based on his love for The Lost Boys.
Masks by Santa Cruz locals Trick or Treat Studios on display at MAH. PHOTO: Mat Weir
On Tap for 2024
Each year Fox and Chemers come up with the themes or topics for the panels and invite a variety of academics and creatives from across the country to participate.
Last year’s event, titled “Werewolf Hunters, Jungle Queens and Space Commandos: The Lost World of Women Comic Artists,” centered around just that: comic books drawn by women dating back to the 1930s. The idea came after Jim Gunderson, a philanthropist, Banana Slug alumnus and avid comic collector, donated a large amount of his comics to the university’s Special Collections and Archives.
“We were so excited about his collection we wanted to create a museum exhibit that showed the role monsters played in comic book art drawn by women,” Chemers says, so they partnered with the Museum of Art and History to showcase the art.
While there is no official theme for this year’s festival, the panels are centered around topics like monstrous ecologies, body horror, queerness in horror, zombies, Black monstrosities and more.
Last weekend the festival gave the public a taste of what’s to come with two days of free events. However, the real frightful fun starts Oct. 16 with a welcome reception followed by a staged reading of Monster, a Frankenstein play by John Clancy, performed by UC Santa Cruz students and directed by Marie Stewart.
On Thursday attendees will enjoy an entire day packed with panels ranging in topics from “The Horror of Sex, Bodies and Monsters in Cinema” to dissecting race in horror with “Black Monstrosities.” There will also be a live recording of The Show Where They Talk About Monsters along with keynote speaker mattie brice, who is a video game designer, UC Santa Cruz faculty member and activist.
Chemers describes brice’s games as “astonishingly important in the history of game design,”
Notably, brice’s 2012 game, Mainichi, transports the player into the main character of a Black transwoman. The challenge is to get through a normal day in a society that sees the character as a monstrous threat.
“It’s really eye-opening,” Chemers admits. “It uses the power of games to get you, the player, to embody an experience you’d otherwise never have and to gain a little empathy.”
Monster Mashup
Friday continues the frights with topics like “Reanimating the 19th-Century British Monsters,” “Queer Monsters” and “Everyday Monsters and Monsters of Resistance.” The day’s keynote speaker is Dr. Jerry Rafiki Jenkins, a writer, professor and assistant director of the Institute of African American Studies at the University of Georgia.
“The study of monsters is so important,” says Jenkins, author of The Paradox of Blackness in African American Vampire Fiction and Anti-Blackness and Human Monstrosity in Black American Horror Fiction.
“My work looks at humans and the human monster. It’s a construct that we’ve created and monsters represent—in many ways—the things that we don’t like about ourselves. That’s why I think some people have a hard time dealing with horror. It’s a reflection that makes us uncomfortable.”
Jenkins explains that traditionally in Western culture, horror was not seen as a Black genre. However, a new wave of Black horror creators—critically acclaimed authors like Tananarive Due (whom Jenkins calls the “Literary Stephen King”), Nnedi Okorafor, Linda D. Addison, Helen Oyeyemi, Jemiah Jefferson and Kenya Moss-Dyme—are changing that perception.
“There’s been a rising trend of Black women in Black horror,” he states. “Traditionally it’s been a male genre, but within Black horror now, I feel like I can name all of the Black male horror writers on two hands. Whereas with women there’s a list.”
In Anti-Blackness, he analyzes the monsters frequently explored in Black American horror fiction–the hypersexualization of Black women in American culture and how Black men are seen as rapists and thugs. Stereotypes dating back to America’s monstrous Original Sin of slavery. An institution—he points out—that isn’t confined just to race or our country’s history.
“Before there was an Atlantic slave trade, there was the Indian Ocean slave trade,” he explains. “The term slav comes from Slavics. So we should be asking, ‘What the hell is going on with human beings that we want to do this shit to each other?’”
Love for the Monster
Then there are people like Kahlo Smith, who have a different take.
“What brings me to monster studies in particular is an interest in self-identification with the monsters” explains Smith, a University of Nevada, Reno graduate student, Felton local and festival panelist.
“I’m Queer and also Jewish and those are two groups that—throughout history—have been aligned with villainy and monstrosity,” she continues.
“What I’ve seen as I’ve grown up in modern culture is a really interesting way that the queer community self-identifies with monstrosity as a way of reclaiming it and valuing difference. Sort of having love for the monster.”
It’s a topic she will explore in detail for her talk titled “I’m Not Straight But I’ll Make an Exception for Mothman: Transgressive Desire in Queer Cryptid Memes.”
So what is it about monsters that not only has held its gnarled grip upon humanity since the beginning of time, but continues to slash away at our deepest fears?
“There’s a kind of delight and joy in eeriness and especially a kind of catharsis,” Smith. Her love for monsters began as a child in the Santa Cruz Mountains, growing up on Highway 9 just down the road from the Bigfoot Discovery Museum. It’s a subject—and place—she would revisit as an adult.
“I interviewed the proprietor—Mike Rugg—back when I was in college,” she says. “The first big research project I did was during Covid, and I interviewed people who were the curators of cryptid museums [across the country]. That really started because of him.”
Creature Discomforts
For Center for Monster Studies co-director Fox, monsters are ubiquitous vehicles that travel through many aspects of humanity.
“Monster studies is a really capacious field in ways other academic fields aren’t. There’s space for people to come at monstrosities from all different angles: literary studies, engineering, science, media studies, Black studies, queer studies, indigenous studies. All of these fields get to come together in monster studies in a way they don’t in other academic spaces.”
How monsters change throughout time and culture is also worth noting. It’s a topic Fox will moderate on at the “Adapting Old Monsters” panel and one she explores extensively in her book The Necromantics, with a particular focus on Shelley’s Frankenstein. In her book Fox argues that Frankenstein itself has become its own monster over the past 206 years.
Today we think of the mad scientist’s monster as a mindless, destructive corpse reanimated through the resulting power when technology meets electricity.
However, that version has been stitched together of pieces from each time period and culture it passes through. In her masterpiece, Shelley never uses the word “reanimate,” instead opting for “animate”—an important distinction that Fox argues changes the meaning of the creature.
“He’s a newly created being who learns how to be human in a world that doesn’t want to allow him to be,” Fox explains.
“He’s culturally and racially illegible, his gender is illegible, and he doesn’t appear to the world in any of the categories they define as human so he has to figure it out for himself. That’s so much of what the novel is about. The problem with the creature is that he’s entirely new, not something that’s old.”
For Chemers the human obsession with monsters might actually be the only thing to save us from ourselves.
“You can take an actual person, mat the monster onto that person and then you can persecute that person without feeling like you’re a psychopath,” he says. “The monsterization of others leads to atrocities. But if you look at the monster and see yourself, then you are on the threshold of some really powerful self-discovery.”
El Pájaro, in English, means “the bird.” So it makes poetic sense that El Pájaro Community Development Corporation serves as an incredible nest for burgeoning local businesses.
By way of loans, coaching and networking, the nonprofit incubator has hatched so many inspiring small businesses that the main challenge in reporting on it is not to gush. The startups include community-uplifting childcare companies, hair salons, IT firms, a boatload of woman-owned operations and a full-on buffet of great food trucks and farmers market favorites.
A partial list of the foodie phenoms includes El Nopalito, Mary’s Fruit Tarts, Fired Up Fresh, Il Biscotto, Cali Co. Catering, Sour Sweet Treats, Ely’s Pupusas, Hot Birds, Mi Pan y Mi Leche, Scrumptious Fish ’n’ Chips, Yoli’s Adobo, Nopalito Produce, Inc. and Rob Pastelillo Puerto Rican. In a word, wow.
Each of those will also furnish food at El Pájaro CDC’s 45th anniversary celebration, “Tacos & Tapas,” happening 6-9pm Thursday, Oct. 17, at the center’s Kitchen Incubator in Watsonville (23 E Beach St., #209, Watsonville), in the heart of the tri-county Monterey-San Benito-Santa Cruz area it serves.
Santa Cruz Cider Company, Fruition Brewing and El Vaquero Winery will all pour; Flor de Caña will do the dance music.
Signing up for the CDC’s support is as simple as registering on its website or just calling their public line (831-706-1062), which leads to all sorts of cascading benefits, as Kitchen Incubator Program Manager Cesario Ruiz—who has cultivated his own food truck project, My Mom’s Mole—testifies.
“Having people from different cultures and backgrounds come to share their flavors with us has been very enlightening,” he says. “It’s very powerful because food has the ability to connect people, and behind every single concept there’s a bigger story of how they got to where they are, which provides that much more of a compelling reason to buy their product.
Aptos, population 6,614, enjoys an outsized amount of flavor—which is a primary reason it has more on the way. The leadership at young, clever and popular craft brew outlet Other Brother Beer Co. had been quietly seeking a location for a satellite spot in the Santa Cruz area to complement its flagship brewery-restaurant (877 Broadway Ave., Seaside). When creative director Evan Loewy, brewer Kevin Brown and company scouted the former Doon to Earth (10 Parade St., Aptos), they knew they found their second home, in large part because of the strong cluster of tastemakers in the neighborhood, namely Cat & Cloud Coffee, Penny Ice Cream, Mentone, Parish Publick House and Betty’s Burgers. Locals can anticipate great hazys, IPAs, lagers and sours, a brisk calendar of events, and optimistic opening date of late 2025, otherbrotherbeer.com.
SNACK PACKETS
For just $5 (free for kids under 12 and students with ID!), UC Santa Cruz Farm’s 2024 Harvest Festival assembles face painting, flower printing, tractor rides, honey tasting, apple pressing, storytelling, Sammy the Banana Slug mingling, food from the Penny Ice Creamery, S&B Food Truck and Pana Venezuelan, live music, an apple pie bake-off, kids’ activities and more 11:30am-2pm Oct. 19, calendar.ucsc.edu/event/harvest-festival…A major victory for fisheries management is upon us: Pacific bluefin tuna caught in the U.S. with handlines and hand-operated pole-and-lines is now rated yellow by Seafood Watch after years on the red list, meaning good management and consumer choices have helped the population recover significantly, more at seafoodwatch.org…Walt Disney, lead us out: “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
Several candidates tossed their hats in the ring in early 2024 when Zach Friend announced his retirement from the District 2 seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.
The top two vote-getters were Kim De Serpa, with 25.2% of the vote, and Kristen Brown with 32.7%.
With a smaller pool of candidates—and a large number of voters expected to head to the polls for the presidential election—the seat is very much in play.
District 2 covers Aptos, La Selva Beach, Seacliff and Rio Del Mar, as well as Corralitos, Freedom and parts of Capitola and Watsonville.
Kristen Brown currently serves as mayor on the Capitola City Council and has over a decade of experience in local government.
Both candidates answered emailed questions and in this article we are featuring Brown’s responses. Some responses have been edited for clarity.
Why are you running?
I’m running for Second District Supervisor because I care deeply about our community, and I want to be part of finding solutions to some of our toughest challenges. I believe my experience and dedication can help make a real difference in maintaining and improving the quality of life for the residents of District 2.
Tell me about the experience that will help you do the job.
I bring over 13 years of experience working in government, nonprofits, and community organizations, including five years working as a Congressional Aide for Congressman Sam Farr and Congressman Jimmy Panetta. I currently serve as Mayor of Capitola and have been on the Capitola City Council for eight years. During that time, I’ve supported millions of dollars in road repairs and investments in public transit, preserved affordable housing options through mobile home rent stabilization, advocated for coastal resilience funding, and increased youth participation in local government.
I’ve had the privilege of serving on multiple boards, commissions and committees throughout the County, and am currently the Chair of the METRO Transit District and the RTC, Regional Transportation Commission, and County Sanitation District Board of Directors. I’ve been on the Board of the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments for the past 8 years, and served as board president during the regional housing needs assessment process.
Additionally, I hold a Masters Degree in Public Administration, with an emphasis in Public Sector Management and Leadership, which has prepared me to tackle the complexities of governance from both a policy perspective and an administrative perspective.
What are some of the most pressing issues in District 2, and what would you do to address them?
Some of the most pressing issues in District 2, and in the County generally, include housing, transportation, climate change, and budget challenges. Below are my thoughts on how I would work to address each of these issues.
– Housing: Our county is facing a housing crisis in terms of both affordability and availability of housing. To address these issues, we need to zone for additional housing development, remove barriers to development such as excessive fees, ensure a fully staffed planning department to address the permitting backlog, and incentivize smart affordable housing development. Additionally, we need to invest in solutions for the unhoused population – such as supportive housing, transitional housing, and tiny homes – and work to prevent displacement through tenant protections and investment in programs that support renters and homeowners.
– Transportation: County residents are spending far too much of their time stuck in traffic rather than spending it with friends, family, and loved ones. This increasing traffic congestion is also contributing to increases in greenhouse gas emissions and lowered quality of life. We need to continue planning for the implementation of electric passenger rail, invest in our METRO transit district, and work to consider funding mechanisms to address the $1 billion dollars of deferred maintenance on over 600 miles of County-owned roadways.
– Climate Change: The impacts of climate change can be seen throughout the County with increasingly intense storm patterns, sea level rise, coastal erosion, wildfires, and drought. Many District 2 residents are experiencing the loss of their fire insurance due to the impacts of climate change. I participated in the Insurance Commissioner’s public hearing on this issue, and will continue working to understand how to best support our residents in the face of this challenge. Additionally, there must be a focus on ensuring that the district is prepared for the next climate-related disaster, our office of Resiliency, Recovery, and Response is prepared to assist residents as needed, evacuation routes are cleared and communicated to residents, and community service networks are in place for when the next disaster strikes. We must also work with our State and Federal partners to seek funding to address climate change mitigation and impacts here in the County.
– Budget: Santa Cruz County is chronically underfunded, receiving only 13-cents of every tax dollar collected. With more population living in unincorporated County than in any individual City, the County is tasked with providing a number of essential services with limited financial resources. In the coming years, the County will be facing additional unfunded State mandates that the next Supervisor will need to be prepared to negotiate. As a 4-year member of the City of Capitola’s Finance Advisory Committee, Member of the Regional Transportation Commission’s Budget & Administration/Personnel (BAP) Committee, and ten-year Treasurer for the Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, I am well tackle the challenges that lie ahead in terms of the County’s budget.
What other changes would you like to see in the county or on the board?
I’d like to see improvements in the County’s efficiency and would like to work with fellow supervisors and County staff to determine where we can streamline processes and procedures to become more efficient in the work being done on behalf of County residents.
Anything else you want to say?
I’m deeply committed to our community, and would be grateful for the opportunity to serve as the next Second District Supervisor. I have a reputation for convening, collaborating, and consensus building in order to get things done, and I welcome outreach from residents to learn more about how they feel I can best serve the District. I’m proud to have the support of a number of community leaders and labor organizations, including every Mayor and Vice Mayor in the County, SEIU 521, which represents County employees, SEIU 2015, the long-term caregivers union, and PVFT, the Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers. I take very seriously the responsibility placed in me and I am ready to step into the role of Supervisor and be responsive to the needs of the residents on day one.
Several candidates tossed their hats in the ring in early 2024 when Zach Friend announced his departure from the District 2 seat on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors.
The top two vote-getters were Kim De Serpa, with 25.2% of the vote, and Brown with 32.7%.
With a smaller pool of candidates—and a large number of voters expected to head to the polls for the Presidential Election—the seat is still very much in play.
District 2 covers Aptos, La Selva Beach, Seacliff and Rio Del Mar, as well as Corralitos, Freedom and parts of Capitola and Watsonville.
De Serpa currently serves on the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees. She is social services manager for the Salinas Valley Health Medical Center.
Both candidates answered emailed questions, and we are featuring De Serpa in this article. Responses have been edited for clarity.
1) Why are you running?
A group of people from Aptos approached in the Spring of 2023 and asked me to run. They thought I would represent the interest of the unincorporated area, well. This was of course very flattering but more importantly their support and belief in me helped to bolster my decision to file for the seat. I hope to make a real difference in the lives of people across the county.
I have a track record of complex problem solving and success that I believe will translate to improved services for the public at the county
level. I have worked alongside some of the most brilliant minds and with the most vulnerable of patients. I have worked in hospitals and the community-from the beginning of life to end-of-life. In healthcare, everything is urgent and I will bring that same sense of urgency in my work for District 2.
2) Tell me about the experience that will help you do the job.
I have a bachelor and master degree in Social Work, and have worked in healthcare where I’ve helped medically complex patients most of my 30-year career. This includes advocating for and arranging entitlements and resources for people to improve their health, wellness and
independence. I have worked at local hospitals and clinics, for Hospice of Santa Cruz County and have served as both a Director and Manager.
Oftentimes this work takes multiple hours, collaboration, and tremendous advocacy to achieve success. Additionally I have served on
the PVUSD school board x14 years, governing a $331 million dollar budget. I have presided over budget cuts, restored budgets, COVID, hiring new superintendents, a focus on improving student achievement, restoring music and art, sports programs, receipt of competitive grants which allowed for innovative programing for students (the Edward James Olmos Youth Cinema Project, the Emeril LeGasse Culinary Garden and Teaching Kitchen, Save the Music to name a few).
3) What are some of the most pressing issues in District 2, and what would you do to address them?
The rural areas in District 2 have long been neglected and need improvements for basic infrastructure.
The most pressing issues include Road Repairs, Public Safety-Rural Connectivity, Landlines, Internet, First Response. The loss of
Homeowners Insurance is a crisis that demands an answer. Housing Affordability-building required affordable,moderately priced housing for our families and workforce. I would like to see less litigation for our county so we can focus any available monies to road repair and public safety.
4) What other changes would you like to see in the county or on the board?
I’d like to forge good collaborative relationships between board members (staying within the Brown Act) so that trust is developed to get good things accomplished for our citizens and our county.
I would like to see less litigation for our county so we can focus any monies possible on road repair and public safety.
Half of the population of Santa Cruz County live in rural unincorporated areas, and I’d like to see a renewed commitment to meeting the needs of our rural community.
I will try to ensure the funding of senior serving agencies which was discontinued in previous rounds of core funding.
5) Anything else you want to say?
My time on the board of trustees has been a distinct honor and provided a proving ground to learn about governance, working diligently to accomplish big projects, set and meet goals and improve services for children, youth and families.
My career over the years included supervision of many nurses and social workers, responsibility for medical clinical services, oversight of
large budgets, grant writing, program evaluation and reporting to funders. There has never been a member of the board that has expertise
in Social Services, Healthcare, Public Health, and Behavioral Health.
These areas make up 65% of the county budget, and I look forward to providing oversight for these areas.
My mom lives nearby and was politically active. She worked for two county supervisors including the first woman elected in Monterey County to the Board of Supervisors, Barbara Shipnuck. She also worked with former Congressman Sam Farr, for 20 years. We are well connected all across our Monterey Bay region.
I have lived in Santa Cruz County since 1996. I am a homeowner living in the rural area, I have a blended family of 6 adult children-five
daughters and one son. My husband is a Stanford physician, a Neonatologist practicing here in Santa Cruz County, he is the medical
director of the Level II NICU at Watsonville Hospital. He was also the founder of the pediatric hospitalist program at Watsonville Hospital, which places a Stanford pediatrician in the hospital 24/7.
I serve on non-profits helping children and youth-PVPSA and For Kids Foundation, Monterey Bay.
I have 680 endorsements, the vast majority are from District 2.
I love children and animals.
I am the reigning champion of the Aptos Sports Foundation poker tournament for 2023!
Natural Bridges State Park reclaims its name as visitors celebrate a second bridge formed in the sandstone cliff wall It will be on display during the annual celebration of the anticipated return of thousands of monarchs to the eucalyptus grove.
The Monarch Celebration is Oct.13, 11am to 4pm. The park welcomes the monarchs that have flown thousands of miles over five generations to return to the Westside. The new bridge opened in the sandstone wall below the parking lot in January,2023.
“We are seeing monarchs arriving in our pollinator garden and they love the tithonia (Mexican sunflowers) and Scabiosa (purple pincushion) flowers,” says Natural Bridges Interpreter Martha Nitzberg,
There will be live music, crafts, games and prizes for coolest monarch butterfly wings at the celebration. A parade will start at 11:30 am. The event is free, parking is $10 in the day-use lot, or you can park on Swanton Boulevard and walk behind Natural Bridges to the wooden planks of the monarch loop. Natural Bridges was down to one bridge for 42 years.
For the sandstone cliffs of Santa Cruz, the ocean is a bridge-making machine. From the seven marine terraces along the coast, down to this widening bridge, Santa Cruz is continuously uplifting and eroding.
“Our coast is ever-changing, sometimes sinking, but in Santa Cruz is being uplifted as the tectonic plates butt edges” says Gary Griggs, UCSC professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences. “The sandstone rock and mudstone rock that forms our coastal cliffs is forever being pushed up and eroded at the same time.”
Walk inland to the eucalyptus grove and monarchs will flutter through the trees like flying flowers. The boardwalk hike winds through a canyon filled with eucalyptus trees, where Interpreter Martha Nitzberg says, “10,000 monarch butterflies spent the winter last year.”
They find the same eucalyptus grove at Natural Bridges as their temporary home by changes in the sunlight. They need to winter here because it’s located in a canyon which provides shelter from the wind, the trees filter in sunlight to keep monarch bodies warm, and eucalyptus trees flower in the winter, giving the butterflies food. There will be docents to discuss this natural majesty.
From November to January, there are clusters of them in the shade, hanging in dense clusters, intertwining their feet along the eucalyptus tree branches. Adults live for two to six weeks, spending their time gathering nectar from flowers, mating, and laying eggs.
In the spring and summer, the butterflies live in the valley regions west of the Rocky Mountains where the monarch’s companion plant, milkweed, is found. Monarchs drink nectar from milkweed flowers, and female monarchs lay their eggs on milkweed leaves. Milkweed contains a toxin that, when ingested by the caterpillar, makes it toxic to other animals. These toxins remain in the butterfly as well, providing protection from predators.
The Natural Bridges Monarch Trail is located at 2531 W Cliff Dr, Santa Cruz. It’s open from 8am to sunset. Parking is $10. There are public restrooms. Dogs are allowed only in the parking lots and picnic areas, but not on the beach and trails (except for ADA service animals). Phone: 831-423-6409.
In the coming weeks, you may be tempted to spar and argue more than usual. You could get sucked into the fantasy that it would make sense to wrangle, feud and bicker. But I hope you sublimate those tendencies. The same hot energy that might lead to excessive skirmishing could just as well become a driving force to create robust harmony and resilient unity. If you simply dig further into your psyche’s resourceful depths, you will discover the inspiration to bargain, mediate and negotiate with élan. Here’s a bold prediction: Healing compromises hammered out now could last a long time.
TAURUS April 20-May 20
Question #1: “What subjects do you talk about to enchant and uplift a person who’s important to you?” Answer #1: “You talk about the feelings and yearnings of the person you hope to enchant and uplift.” Question #2: “How do you express your love with maximum intelligence?” Answer #2: “Before you ask your allies to alter themselves to enhance your relationship, you ask yourself how you might alter yourself to enhance your relationship.” Question #3: “What skill are you destined to master, even though it’s challenging for you to learn?” Answer #3: “Understanding the difference between supple passion and manic obsession.”
GEMINI May 21-June 20
In 1819, Gemini entrepreneur Francois-Louis Cailler became the first chocolatier to manufacture chocolate bars. His innovation didn’t save any lives, cure any disease or fix any injustice. But it was a wonderful addition to humanity’s supply of delights. It enhanced our collective joy and pleasure. In the coming months, dear Gemini, I invite you to seek a comparable addition to your own personal world. What novel blessing might you generate or discover? What splendid resource can you add to your repertoire?
CANCER June 21-July 22
Ayurnamat is a word used by the Inuit people. It refers to when you long for the relaxed tranquility that comes from not worrying about what can’t be changed. You wish you could accept or even welcome the truth about provocative situations with equanimity. Now here’s some very good news, Cancerian. In the coming weeks, you will not just yearn for this state of calm, but will also have a heightened ability to achieve it. Congratulations! It’s a liberating, saint-like accomplishment.
LEO July 23-Aug. 22
Healing will be more available to you than usual. You’re extra likely to attract the help and insight you need to revive and restore your mind, soul and body. To get started, identify two wounds or discomforts you would love to alleviate. Then consider the following actions: 1. Ruminate about what helpers and professionals might be best able to assist you. Make appointments with them. 2. Perform a ritual in which you seek blessings from your liveliest spirit guides and sympathetic ancestors. 3. Make a list of three actions you will take to make yourself feel better. 4. Treat this process not a somber struggle, but as a celebration of your mounting vitality.
VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22
The Beatles were the best-selling band of all time and among the most influential, too. Their fame and fortune were well-earned. Many of the 186 songs they composed and recorded were beautiful, interesting and entertaining. Yet none of the four members of the band could read music. Their brilliance was intuitive and instinctual. Is there a comparable situation in your life, Virgo? A task or skill that you do well despite not being formally trained? If so, the coming months will be a good time to get better grounded. I invite you to fill in the gaps in your education.
LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22
In 2010, Edurne Pasaban became the first woman to climb the world’s tallest 14 mountains, reaching the top of Shishapangma in China. In 2018, Taylor Demonbreun arrived in Toronto, Canada, completing a quest in which she visited every sovereign nation on the planet in 18 months. In 1924, explorer Alexandra David-Néel pulled off the seemingly impossible feat of visiting Lhasa, Tibet, when that place was still forbidden to foreigners. Be inspired by these heroes as you ruminate about what frontier adventures you will dare to enjoy during the next six months. Design a plan to get all the educational and experimental fun you need.
SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21
Alnwick Garden is an unusual network of formal gardens in northeast England. Among its many entertaining features is the Poison Garden, which hosts 100 species of toxic and harmful plants like hemlock, strychnine and deadly nightshade. It’s the most popular feature by far. Visitors enjoy finding out and investigating what’s not good for them. In accordance with astrological omens, Scorpio, I invite you to use this as an inspirational metaphor as you take inventory of influences that are not good for you. Every now and then, it’s healthy to acknowledge what you don’t need and shouldn’t engage with.
SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21
Sagittarian Tom Rath is an inspirational author who at age 49 has managed to stay alive even though he has wrangled with a rare disease since he was 16. He writes, “This is what I believe we should all aim for: to make contributions to others’ lives that will grow infinitely in our absence. A great commonality we all share is that we only have today to invest in what could outlive us.” That’s always good advice for everyone, but it’s especially rich counsel for you Sagittarians in the coming months. I believe you will have a special capacity to dispense your best gifts to those who need and want them.
CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19
Capricorn writer Susan Sontag was a public intellectual. She was an academic with a scholarly focus and an entertaining commentator on the gritty hubbub of popular culture. One of my favorite quotes by her is this one: “I like to feel dumb. That’s how I know there’s more in the world than me.” In other words, she made sure her curiosity and open-mindedness flourished by always assuming she had much more to learn. I especially recommend this perspective to you in the coming weeks.
AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18
The Salem Witch Trials took place in Massachusetts from 1692 to 1693. They were ignorant, superstitious prosecutions of people accused of practicing witchcraft. The modern holiday known as Freethought Day happens every Oct. 12, the anniversary of the last witch trial. The purpose of this jubilee is to encourage us to treasure objective facts, to love using logic and reason, and to honor the value of critical thinking. It’s only observed in America now, but I propose we make it a global festival. You Aquarians are my choice to host this year’s revelries in celebration of Freethought Day. You are at the peak of your ability to generate clear, astute, liberating thoughts. Show us what it looks like to be a lucid, unbiased observer of reality.
PISCES Feb. 19-March 20
A YouTube presenter named Andy George decided to make a chicken sandwich. But he didn’t buy the ingredients in a store. He wanted to make the sandwich from scratch. Over the next six months, he grew wheat, ground it into flour and used it to bake bread. He milked a cow to make cheese and butter. He got sea salt from ocean water and grew a garden of lettuce, cucumber, tomato and dill for toppings. Finally, he went to a farm, bought a chicken, and did all that was necessary to turn the live bird into meat for the sandwich. In describing his process, I’m not suggesting you do something similar. Rather, I’m encouraging you to be thorough as you solidify your foundations in the coming months. Gather resources you will need for long-term projects. Be a connoisseur of the raw materials that will assure future success in whatever way you define success.
Homework: What have you denied yourself even though it would be good for you? Write a note giving yourself permission. Newsletter.FreeWillAstrology.com
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