The Central Coast had a booming fishing industry until about 20 years ago, says Roger Burleigh, marketing and supply chain management for Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust.
These days, most locals aren’t aware of what fish swim in the bay’s waters. The Fisheries Trust hopes to change that with Get Hooked Restaurant Week, which launches Monday, July 29, and runs through Sunday, Aug. 4. By coordinating with local restaurants, Burleigh aims to educate curious foodies and highlight the area’s fishing operations—“A way to have a genuine Monterey Bay seafood experience,” he says.
What’s your favorite fish?
ROGER BURLEIGH: One species we’re going to highlight is lingcod, and the neat thing about that species is some of the fish are blue, and their flesh looks like it was dumped in a vat of blue dye—but when you cook it, it turns white. People get freaked out by it: “Oh my god! Is that a GMO?” Nope, completely natural. It’s part of their life history. It’s a flaky white fish. It’s delicious.
What’s life like out there for those in the industry?
It’s hard. I can’t speak for the fishermen, but they have had to endure quite a lot over the decades, and there just aren’t that many young fishermen. They’re out there. But much in the same way that the demographics for farmers in this country are getting older and older, the same thing is happening with our local fleet. It’s what they call graying of the fleet. Unlike agriculture, where there’s a known input and output and timing of everything, you’re dealing with completely wild fisheries. The fishermen are at the mercy of weather, ocean conditions. And when they do catch what they’re targeting, sometimes they’re having to compete in the marketplace for foreign imports. Really, we’re trying to get them the highest value for their fish.
This event opens the door to some fun puns—“hook up,” “get hooked on local fish,” “We’ll hook you up with great fish deals.” Have you been playing around with that?
Oh, absolutely. It’s constantly running through my mind how we can spin words, and one new feature that we didn’t hold during the Monterey event is we’re holding a closing dinner at the Food Lounge, Sunday, Aug. 4—$50, four-course meal. Internationally renowned Santa Cruz chef Diego Felix is doing the catering. I’m calling it a finale dinner, with an emphasis on the “fin” part. And our tagline is “Putting Monterey Bay’s best fish forward.”
RBG mania couldn’t have come at a better time. In an era when the national discourse can be downright depressing on a daily basis, our sudden collective obsession with Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has made politics fun again. And the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music is giving us a reason to get excited for the Notorious RBG all over again this summer. The festival’s much-anticipated premiere of composer Kristin Kuster’s When There Are Nine, inspired by Ginsburg’s life, was the impetus for the “My Own Words: The Law and Legacy of RBG” event, which GT did a cover story about back in May. Now the main event is finally here, as the Cabrillo Festival kicks off July 28.
But what’s most interesting about Christina Waters’ cover story on the festival this week is that she goes beyond the flashiest RBG angle to look at how the festival is doing more than just talking about gender equality (the 2019 festival was conceptualized around the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage) by actually investing in the work of women composers. And in multiple interviews with those composers, she then flips the issue around again by showing how what they’re bringing to the festival is about so much more than gender. The musical visions that will be realized this year are some of the Cabrillo Festival’s most exciting ever, and I think you’ll enjoy reading about them.
GT’s cover story “Wish You Were Here” (GT, 6/26) would be dangerous if an authentic immigrant from Mexico would be able to boast about the truth of dual citizenship (which is basically what the white “ex pat” and “author”) is blabbing about. Many of us have understood the beauty, merits, and community that exists in Mexico, but many of us have not had the white privilege to bounce from one county to another. A better and more important story would for a real journalist to travel to Watsonville to talk to people who are the real deal and who can offer real insight about what it is like to exist in two countries, who have labored day in and day out, and who are now subject to political scorn, hate and violence by this “so called” democracy. Dig a little deeper for local stories GT, we know you can do it, because stories like this are far from insightful. ¿Se Puede?
Gregorio Paz
Watsonville
Shocking Declines
Thank you for the recent article informing your readers about the impact of climate change on amphibians (GT, 7/3). While in Belgium, I was chatting with a government biologist and was astounded to learn of the decline of flying insects in Southern France. He told me there had been a 75% reduction over the past 40 years. Since then I’ve learned that nature is dying everywhere, but most of the media seems unconcerned. Please make it a habit to inform your readers of what is going on. Unfortunately, rising tides and increasing storms look like secondary issues when compared to the collapse of life’s infrastructure. Food production will come under increasing pressures. Young people need to be acutely aware of how seriously climate change will impact their futures.
Mike Duffy
Scotts Valley
Thank You, Nina
Santa Cruz and the world is a much better place because of Nina Simon (GT, 6/5). Thank you, Nina for your farm-to-table exhibit. You eloquently set up a banquet table and guided us to gold-plated plates where we stared directly into the farmers’ eyes. Thank you for the foster children’s exhibit where each child unfolded their personal belongings, opening our hearts to their daily life struggles. I could go on and on, but most importantly I wanted to let you know that your spirit and impact has truly been felt, and you will be sorely missed.
Debbie Morton
Santa Cruz
Re: Nuz on Recall
This Good Times article contains biased snark. I agree that Republicans as a group make decisions that are callous. But by pointing out that Republicans can be shitbags, it’s as if you’re saying the “opposite” is automatically laudable? That’s just stupid. Drew Glover lied about there being no drug use at the Ross camp, and five people died on the premises. I consider myself to be very far left. Glover and this article are embarrassments to the group.
— Ed
Re: Expats
Terrific article about Janet, and women moving abroad. Even better was the inverted perspective on living in the U.S. Just as the U.S. needs to widen its global vision, the rest of the world needs to stop thinking of the U.S. as the only repository for the American Dream.
— Chris Watson
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GOOD IDEA
PISTON THE NIGHT AWAY
Andy’s Auto Supply, one of the oldest businesses on Pacific Avenue, will be celebrating a big anniversary on Sunday, Aug. 4—70 years after Andy Mekis first opened the downtown shop. The Mekis family is inviting friends and longtime customers to what it’s calling “a local old school afternoon.” Maple Street will be closed down, with custom cars and sepia-toned memories on display, while classic songs like “Little Deuce Coup” and “Mustang Sally” blast on the stereo.
GOOD WORK
TEAM OF THE CROP
Last month, California State Senator Bill Monning honored “Food, What?!” with the 17th District’s Nonprofit of the Year Award, prompting the group’s staff to join Monning in Sacramento for the annual California Nonprofits Day Celebration. Watsonville-based “Food, What?!” is a youth empowerment and food justice organization that engages youth in relationships with land, food and each other. It uses organic farming, nourishing food and a caring community as vehicles to help youth grow.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“If I had any talent that God could give me, I would be a great diva.”
Kindred Herbs—a new, woman-owned plant nursery—is hosting its first medicinal plant sale, with more than 60 herbs from around the world for sale. As herbalism grows in popularity, many wild plants are being over-harvested. Kindred Herb’s medicinal plant nursery allows farmers and gardeners to grow and harvest their own herbs locally without depleting the wild populations that are at risk. There will be Ayurvedic, Chinese, European, and North American herbs; all are grown organically and have been selected for their potency and suitability for the cool Santa Cruz climate.
INFO: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday, July 20 and Sunday, July 21. 2014 Ocean St. Extension, Santa Cruz. kindred-herbs.com. Free entry.
Art Seen
Tiny Winery Concert Series
NPR’sTiny Desk concert series has made a name for itself by featuring small-town artists on the big audio stage. In the same spirit of showcasing local talent, Armitage Wines is launching its Tiny Winery concert series with an intimate outdoor performance by rising country music star Jesse Daniel. Daniel grew up in the Santa Cruz Mountains and recently received the 2019 Ameripolitan Award for honky-tonk male performer. There will be wine, snacks and tunes. Proceeds benefit Quail Hollow Integrated Arts.
Get ready to go down the rabbit hole with Flynn Creek Circus’ all new big top production Out of Hat. The show is told from a rabbit’s perspective, and explores both the magic of physics and the physics of magic. Meet the sinister magician, the bunny revolutionaries, a two-headed girl, and more. This year’s cast features the world famous “gentlemen jugglers” Kris and Harrison Kremo from Switzerland.
INFO: Varying showtimes, check online for information. SkyPark, 361 Kings Village Rd., Scotts Valley. flynncreekcircus.com. $12 child/$27 adult/$20 seniors and students.
Tuesday 7/23-Tuesday 8/7
Santa Cruz Shakespeare ‘Pay What You Will’
Summer is for outdoor theater, and in Santa Cruz, that means Shakespeare. Everyone should have the opportunity to experience the summer tradition of Santa Cruz Shakespeare, regardless of finances, which is why SCS is sharing show previews at a special, donation-based price. Guests can “pay what you will” on any seat in the house, starting at a $5 minimum for The Comedy of Errors and The Winter’s Tale.
INFO: 2 and 7:30 p.m. The Audrey Stanley Grove, 501 Upper Park Rd. in Delaveaga Park, Santa Cruz. 460-6399. santacruzshakespeare.org. $5 minimum/donation.
Thursday 7/18
‘The Search for the Loch Ness Monster’
If Nessie didn’t exist, then why would Scotland have a protocol in place for when she/he is found? Guidelines under the Scottish Natural Heritage government group stipulate that if and when Nessie is captured, a DNA sample should be taken before releasing him/her back into the lake. Join guest lecturer and adventurer David Miln Smith, the first man to swim from Africa to Europe across the Strait of Gibraltar, in a talk about his love of the Loch Ness Monster, and what it was like to search for it.
INFO: 1-3 p.m. Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz. 420-6177. Free.
From the opening salvo honoring Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to a sustained series of premieres by women composers and performers from across the globe, this year’s Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music will explore the leading edge of new music, weaving words and lives through experimental musical forms.
In conceptualizing the 2019 festival, which runs July 28 – Aug. 11, Music Director Cristian Măcelaru says he wanted a special focus, a historic inflection for the festival. He discovered one in the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in the United States. “We threw around ideas. We wanted to tell an inspiring story,” he says, “and women’s suffrage, achieved 100 years ago in 1919, looked like a great way to tell the story of equality, and of making a better society.”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg was “the perfect role model,” the festival’s conductor says. “Somehow the arrows all pointed toward her—and this was way before all of the recent publicity around Justice Ginsburg,” Măcelaru points out.
He met with composer Kristin Kuster, and her collaborator and librettist Megan Levad. “Then Jamie Barton came to mind,” he says. “Jamie is a close friend, and she had sung at the Supreme Court at Justice Ginsburg’s request.”
The last challenge was to find “a vocal ensemble that was the equivalent of our great orchestra.” And what came to mind was the almost-uncategorizable ensemble A Roomful of Teeth.
The end result is When There Are Nine, which Măcelaru says “will tell the story of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s achievements in a new way, in a way based upon her own thoughts and statements.”
In addition to the ambitious When There Are Nine, composed by Kristin Kuster for soprano soloist, vocale ensemble and orchestra, this year’s festival offers a larger-than-ever landscape of work created by women.
“There are more opportunities for women in music now,” says Măcelaru, who was recently appointed Chief Conductor of the Cologne-based WDR Sinfonieorchester. “I see a conscious effort in the music industry to find a balance of all genders.”
But he insists that festival invitees weren’t chosen simply because they were women.
“Our composers and performers were chosen because they were interesting,” says Măcelaru. “It just happens that they were women. I looked for how beautiful the music was and what statement it made. And it was all ending up to make a more balanced world.”
In order to understand the musical world that this year’s festival will build, I spoke to several of the composers about the works they will bring to the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music next week.
Nina Young
‘Agnosco Veteris’ (West Coast Premiere) Friday, Aug. 2
Young’s orchestral work was commissioned by Robert Spano and the Aspen Music Festival, and interweaves distinct but partnered memories from Virgil’s Aeneid and Dante’s Divine Comedy.
How can the non-composing listener understand your music? How would you describe your work?
NINA YOUNG:I’m a sound composer. I’m a violinist and an engineer, so for me composing is about putting things together. I want to make immersive worlds that draw you in. People can gain traction with the work if they try to find their own story within it.
Tell us about your creative process with this piece.
Agnosco Veteris, created in 2015, is very rooted in melody and harmony. Based upon a passage in Virgil’s Aeneid about grief and memory. The Trojan hero Aeneas has rekindled something in the grieving Carthaginian queen Dido—a flame. The title means, “I recognize the traces of an ancient fire.” Dante brings this quote back into the Divine Comedy, in his spiritual quest through symbolism. My piece draws on antiquity, mythology, Eastern European mysticism—a postmodern mish-mash, all together—as if they might have composed it in antiquity. I made imaginary music from a time before, a time long ago.
How is it structured?
While episodic in construction, Agnosco Veteris is divided into three large sections. Part one, the “Music of Before,” presents the thematic source material, or sonic memories. Part two, the “Music of Ritual,” is a static reflective checkpoint during which the listener can consider the musical recollections that came before. Part three, the “Music of After” is characterized by energetic renewal and presents a reconfigured collage of the musical material.
What are you working on now?
I get bored easily [laughs]. I like writing for people I love. I have a lot of work now. Three big orchestra pieces, one for the New York Philharmonic.
Writing for orchestra takes a long time. I’m influenced by Renaissance music. I really do love Renaissance polyphony, anything with bells, probably because I come from a Russian Orthodox tradition. And spectralism. Gerard Grisey was a huge influence on me, and Kaija [Saariaho] is my superhero. I also love American minimalism, Michael Gordon and David Lang. Especially David Lang [a Pulitzer Prize-winner, and—with Gordon—co-founder of the Bang on a Can post-minimalist music collective]. There’s a famous Stravinsky quote, “Good composers borrow, great composers steal.”
Hannah Lash
‘God Music, Bug Music’(West Coast Premiere) Saturday, Aug. 10
Lash’s piece, a canonic exploration in two movements, was scored for percussion, piano, harp, and strings, and received its world premiere in 2012 by the Minnesota Orchestra.
How would you describe this work?
HANNAH LASH: There are two movements, each using the same cell of five notes, though very differently. In God Music, this cell rages in the brass before it infiltrates the rest of the ensemble, and the movement culminates in rhythmic unison for the whole orchestra. In Bug Music, the motif is expressed canonically in a chamber-like setting, slowly swarming its way into all the instruments, finally reaching full saturation: a breakdown of the canonic structure into a fully chromatic cluster.
What do you think about the abundance of women composers and soloists this year?
It’s unfortunate that people genderize—it’s terribly limiting. There really is no set of characteristics that denote “women’s music.” The fact that we’re conscious of a need for equal representation is great. But to break an art form into gender categories diminishes the work.
Do you currently perform on the harp as well as compose for it?
Yes. Being a harp soloist is half of my career. I recently completed a harp double concerto for the Seattle Symphony. I’m currently developing a chamber orchestra piece. A large part of my schedule is also performing the repertoire—Debussy, for example—as well as my own compositions.
What is your process?
I begin by using my ears. Imagining the sounds. Then I sketch by hand, and finally I move to an instrument, the piano.
What do you see in the future for New Music?
I am afraid that the idea that new music is non-melodic or difficult is an assumption, a generalization. I want to get away from linear thinking. For me, there’s just different things happening, and different time periods. No one is more evolved than the other. New Music is often thought to be rigorous and thorny, which is regrettable. That trend of thought shouldn’t be perpetuated. I just want to jump into a sea where we can enjoy everything.
What do you enjoy about the Cabrillo Festival?
It’s always fun to hear one’s music played. And in an art form that involves performance, and so it can be interpreted in different ways. Sometimes well, sometimes not. This is a wonderful orchestra, so it’s great to hear the piece performed by Cabrillo.
Kirstin Kuster
‘When There are Nine’ (World Premiere, 2019 Festival Commission) Friday, Aug. 2
Kuster’s work, based upon poems by Megan Levad, features the solo work of renowned opera soprano Jamie Barton [Fricka in the last year’s Ring at the Metropolitan Opera], and the innovative sound work of vocal ensemble A Roomful of Teeth.
Did the historic significance of the title ‘When There are Nine’ inflect your compositional tone and style?
KIRSTIN KUSTER: The most significant influences on my writing for this piece were RBG as an icon, and Megan Levad’s poetry/libretto. Megan’s writing is extremely athletic and nuanced, and she has beautifully captured the significance of When There are Nine as her words unfold throughout the nine movements. Megan references Justice Ginsburg’s writings and important legal opinions, and she weaves and spins an overarching narrative of how significant RBG’s presence and lifetime of work is for our culture.
How did you begin composing for voice and chorale?
This piece is a mere pile of notes without Megan’s words. Having the sounds of both soloist Jamie Barton and Roomful of Teeth’s immense color palettes and sonic versatility was a tremendous gift. They are unspeakably great! I felt a real freedom to write sounds that are sometimes complex, while sustaining the meaning and poignancy of Megan’s words.
Did Megan send you the nine poems around the life of RBG and pivotal issues in her career? Megan and I have written a lot of pieces in collaboration. I came up with the idea for the title, and having nine poems. We exchanged articles and interviews featuring RBG. Then Megan went to work. The minute I read her words, I heard music—immediately.
What were the special pleasures—and challenges—of making this piece?
The entire process has been a pleasure. I love working with Megan. I love the sounds of Jamie and Roomful of Teeth. I love the Cabrillo Festival orchestra. My primary challenge was to keep from making this big piece even longer!
You’ve written about strong women, inspired by strong women—Marin Alsop has been a mentor and leader in opening up the musical field to more women. Many women consider RBG a superhero. Did you channel some of that same energy when you approached this world premiere festival commission?
While writing, I felt the strength of every strong person who identifies as female whom I’ve known—my mother, my sisters, my friends, my colleagues, my friends’ children, our students, artists, musicians, writers, thinkers, and athletes whose work I admire. My hope is that this piece will serve as a thank-you note to all of our women.
Anna Clyne
‘DANCE’ cello concerto, (World Premiere) Saturday, Aug. 3
Clyne’s work, jointly commissioned by the Cabrillo Festival and the Baltimore Symphony, was inspired by the poems of Rumi, for the Cabrillo Festival orchestra and cellist Inbal Segev.
How would you describe this concerto?
It was initially inspired by Rumi, the 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic. The piece is short, involves repetition, a clear form of five lines, and a strong physicality—the five movements according to the five lines of the poem. People will find more diversity in it than Within Her Arms, which was performed at the festival four years ago. It’s more dynamic, not as tender. This concerto is a real challenge. You have to be mindful of the balance, especially with a low instrument like the cello.
You’ve been here to this festival at least three times in the past. Why does Cabrillo continue to draw you?
I love being here at the Cabrillo Festival. It’s a chance to hear the other composers, which is so very inspiring. And the orchestra! Very accurate orchestral performances. It’s a wonderful community.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working on a 15-minute piece inspired by Haydn’s famously playful 60th Symphony called Sound and Fury. It’s programmed at the festival in Lyons, along with the Haydn Symphony itself, and with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra [where Clyne is the newly-appointed Associate Composer].
THE CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
The Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music runs July 28 – August 11, with all performances at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz. Ticket prices for individual concerts range from $15 – $65; there is also a $375 full-subscription package. A Free Family Concert will be presented as part of the Church Street Fair on Sunday, Aug. 4, at 1 p.m. For a complete schedule, go to cabrillomusic.org.
It’s Friday night on the steps of the Santa Cruz Courthouse, and close to 200 people are standing in solidarity with the local immigrant community and those at detention centers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
For Tina Gomez, the gathering is a helpful way for immigrants to feel supported in smaller communities.
“The vigil opens minds, and hopefully unites us Latinos together. It’s important to take a stand and be present,” Gomez says. “I’m glad that they had this here, so at least I can take a stand. This [treatment] is wrong. They treat animals better than they treat these children.”
The July 12 vigil was part of a nationwide movement called Lights for Liberty, which advocates to “close the camps” where undocumented immigrants are being held in federal detention centers. A similar rally happened at the Watsonville Plaza at the same time.
At the vigils, groups like Santa Cruz Indivisible, Your Allied Rapid Response (YARR) and the Santa Cruz County Immigration Project provide support and information on legal rights and services. Members of the Santa Cruz Dreamer Project, like Blanca Cortez and her daughter, pass out flyers and information about the Rapid Response Hotline. Undocumented community members can call the number to find out if Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have been spotted in the area. Community members can also call to report ICE sightings.
“I’m a mom, so I feel like this is important not just for me but for my daughter to attend,” Cortez says. “I plan to do more activism, and we both plan to be more involved. It’s a reminder to my daughter about how lucky she is, and how to support others.”
Hundreds flooded the front steps of the Santa Cruz County Courthouse with signs and candles to participate in Santa Cruz’ Lights for Liberty Vigil, a nationwide protest of detainment camps at the U.S.-Mexico border. PHOTO: NATALYA ESTRADA
Over the past week, undocumented residents around the country—especially those in the 10 U.S. cities identified in news reports—have been on edge since President Trump announced that immigration raids would start this past Sunday.
“They’re going to take people out, and they’re going to bring them back to their countries, or they’re going to take criminals out, put them in prison or put them in prison in the countries they came from,” Trump said on Friday. The raids were expected to take place over the course of several days.
Although cities listed so far don’t include less-populated areas like Santa Cruz, Doug Keegan, program director and attorney at the Santa Cruz County Immigration Project, advises immigrants with vulnerable statuses to be on high alert.
“It sounded to me like they were targeting larger cities like San Francisco or Los Angeles, but there could be some spillover in our area,” Keegan says, reminding people to be careful about going out in public. “ICE is really going after low-hanging fruit. People need to understand that they need to take common-sense approaches to protect themselves.”
Keegan estimates that close to 70% of Watsonville residents have at least one undocumented person living with them.
ICE has not said whether any agents are present in the Santa Cruz region. Agency Spokesperson Paul Prince, representing the San Francisco and Northern California region, reports that 2,327 arrests were made between January and March of this year throughout the state, and 1,245 individuals were deported during those three months.
Research last year by UCSC Professor Regina Langhout showed that the detrimental effects of deportations extend beyond the individuals detained, impacting families and the community at large. The study found that family members left behind can suffer multiple psychosocial consequences, and that separation of a child from a parent due to a deportation is associated with economic hardship, housing instability and food insecurity.
A woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty greets vigil attendees at the Santa Cruz Courthouse. She holds a piece of paper with the words from the poem “The New Colossus,” which is written on a plaque at the actual Statue of Liberty. PHOTO: NATALYA ESTRADA
Valeria*, who lives undocumented in Santa Cruz, says her husband was detained by ICE last month and is currently in custody.
“It’s difficult for my children and I, who don’t get to see him,” she says. “It’s really emotional. We have a lot of problems since he was taken.”
Her family’s uncertainty grows as money becomes tighter and food becomes scarce. Valeria picks fruit from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., and says she still does not have enough money to pay next month’s rent, let alone support her children. That reality could leave her with difficult decisions to make should her husband get deported to Mexico.
“We want to stay here. It’s better here for my children. There’s better education, better opportunities and a better life for us here,” Valeria says, adding that they have no real family elsewhere. “We are alone. We don’t have enough money or resources. Most of our lives are here, and we can’t just leave.”
Valeria has considered speaking to immigration lawyers, but she says there are few services in the area, and that she doesn’t have money to pay a lawyer. She was told that her husband is being held in San Luis, Arizona, but hasn’t been able to speak with him since his arrest.
Prior to recent immigration raids, California Gov. Gavin Newsom released a video on Twitter telling immigrants they have the right to be careful before opening the door. “I just want to say, folks that are anxious about a knock on the door, when we talk about knowing your rights, ‘No abras la puerta.’ Without a warrant, you don’t have to open the door. You have the right to due process. You have the right to legal representation,” Newsom said.
Local law enforcement in both the county and city of Santa Cruz have refused to cooperate with ICE under most circumstances. As reported by GT in 2018, Santa Cruz County Sheriff Jim Hart wrote tothen-state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de Leon that “fear of detention, deportation and family separation” was bad for public safety, undermining trust in law enforcement. After the passage of California’s Sanctuary State Bill, Hart, who oversees the jail system, stopped cooperating with ICE altogether.
The Santa Cruz Police Department (SCPD) participated in a controversial 2017 federal anti-gang operation, in which some immigrants were arrested because of their immigration status. SCPD has since outlined its official immigration policy, stating that an individual’s immigration status “is not a matter for police action,” and that local and state agencies do not have authority to enforce national immigration laws.
It also mentions that “officers shall not dedicate department time or resources to the enforcement of federal immigration law where the only violation of law is presence in the United States without authorization or documentation.”
*Name has been changed to protect source’s identity
After she gave away all of her bees this past spring, the grief hit Donna Gardnerhard. “I spent at least the first two weeks crying and not sleeping at night,” she says of her abrupt end to beekeeping.
For eight years Gardener had carefully cultivated hives in the yard behind her Sunnyside Avenue home, and she’d grown to appreciate the inner workings of honeybee civilization. Each hive had one queen and a few male drones, plus the mortuary bees to remove corpses and housekeeping bees to keep the hive clean. Certain bees tend to the queen, while others take care of the larvae or stand guard to keep out intruders. There are also forager bees that leave in search of pollen or nectar, then return to the hive to do what’s called a “waggle dance” for their fellow workers, providing directions to the location of some flowers in relation to the sun.
“If you ever watch bees going in and out of their hive, it’s mesmerizing. It’s so calming. I love coming home on a warm day, and you can smell the honey, and you can smell the propolis, and it smells really good. I miss that,” says Gardner, who used to give neighbors jars of honey made possible by the neighborhood’s flowers.
But now her hives are wrapped up in the city’s red tape—maybe for good.
Gardner believes the trouble started one day when the bees in one of her three hives started getting aggressive. Although her hives faced away from the street, they were only 9 feet from the sidewalk. She says her husband Tom came home from work early, put up a sign saying that their bees were angry, and stood watch, imploring people to walk down the other side of the street. Gardner called a beekeeper friend who picked up the hive that night after the bees went to sleep and brought it back to his property. Gardner says two people, including a neighbor, got stung that day.
It wasn’t long after that incident that the Gardners got a notice in the mail telling them that they were violating city law. Santa Cruz city rules state that bee hives must be at least 20 feet from the property line, and that residents may have no more than two hives. Additionally, each beekeeper is required to obtain a permit. The cost of each permit, Gardner would learn, was more than $1,500.
By the time a notice of violation arrived in the mail, Gardner was down to just one hive. Another one of her hives had gotten aggressive, so she gave it away. The notice warned her to take “remedial action” and get rid of the hive, or else she would get fined. She gave the last hive away. So Gardner was surprised earlier this month, when an invoice still arrived from the city for $615 or $738—it wasn’t clear which—for costs associated with the inspection.
The cost of appealing the fee is steep enough that she wonders whether there’s any point in bothering to file one.
Bees play an important role in ecosystems around the world. Researchers have found that one-third of crops require help from pollinators like bees in order to grow. With bee populations falling, environmentalists have begun to panic. But there’s some disagreement over the importance of honeybees in particular. Although several bee species have landed on the endangered species list, the honeybee is not one of them.
After learning about the regulations, Gardner searched the city’s website for a permit, only to learn that it wasn’t available online. She stopped by the Santa Cruz Planning Department, where Gardner says the planner needed her help to actually track down the permit, reinforcing her view that the requirement is an arcane frivolity.
Ralph Dimarucut, a management analyst with the city of Santa Cruz, says he can appreciate that sense of frustration. He says the feedback is helpful and promised to pass it along. “We just want to make it as easy as possible,” he tells GT.
In general, it does not appear that many bee hives are getting tagged. Santa Cruz Planning Director Lee Butler says there have been three instances where bee hives were hit with notices of violation since 2010.
Embarking on a new mission to convince the city to loosen its bee rules, Gardner enlisted the help of her neighbor Nicki Nelson, a lawyer. Together, they crafted Gardner’s dream ordinance. Gardner is suggesting changes including and end to city fees, and that a hive need be only 6 feet from the property line. Nelson says that since looking into the issue, she’s found Santa Cruz’s bee ordinances to be far stricter than other communities nearby.
Nelson and Gardner reached out to City Councilmember Drew Glover, who founded Project Pollinate, an advocacy organization focused on preserving pollinators. They set up a meeting later this month with Glover, who says he first learned about cumbersome restrictions from the Santa Cruz Bee Guild. “The question is, ‘Why is the city putting up barriers or making it more difficult?” asks Glover, who says he hadn’t brought up the issue at the city yet because he’s been focused on topics like homelessness.
Butler says the planning department has a plan to update its beehive regulations, although that item doesn’t have a specific timeline. “It’s in the queue,” he says.
Gardner is eager to start a community discussion about pollinators. She also hopes she gets the opportunity to be a beekeeper again.
“This was my teeny, tiny, little thing that I felt like I could do for good,” she says. “And the benefit was I got honey.”
When PG&E starts shutting off power lines this summer in high-wind events, the electricity could be down for up to five days in an effort to prevent wildfires. It’s a pain for us customers. But PG&E won’t care, because it’s cheaper for investors than making needed upgrades. A recentWall Street Journal investigation found that the utility’s transmission towers are an average of 68 years old, even though their average life expectancy was 65 years, and the company hasn’t been regularly inspecting infrastructure. For information on how to prepare for outages and receive shutoff notifications, visit pge.com.
Over the last 10 years, California experienced 4,300 outages—more than any other U.S. state—affecting more than 22 million Californians, according to Eaton’s annual Blackout Tracker. Homeowners who’ve been prudent enough to install solar panels may be off the hook, but only if they have a home battery handy. According to California government data,7,700 homes in Santa Cruz County now have solar.
The San Francisco-based PR firm Edelman reached out and helped compile this data, even offering to connect Nuz with its client Sunrun, which makes a revolutionary home solar battery that—blah, blah, blah, all right, this isn’t an advertisement.
RARE OPPORTUNITY
Retired auditor Dave Laneis buying downtown Santa Cruz’s Surfrider Café, which he plans to rename Kind Brewery. Lane, who finished last in last year’s Santa Cruz City Council race, says he’ll expand beer offerings, in part by installing a new microbrew system and 10 more taps. He adds that he’ll keep the beer-and-burger joint’s menu mostly the same.
Let’s hope so, or else customers are sure to grill, burn and roast him to a temperature even hotter than voters did in 2018.
ARM IN FARM
Local birdwatcher Jonathan Franzen, who also happens to be a New York Times best-selling novelist, will give the keynote speech at an upcoming Homeless Garden Project farm-to-table dinner. The Boulder Creek resident apparently enjoys looking for birds at the Westside garden, which will host a Sustain Farm Supper with dishes from four local chefs for $150 a head. More information’s available athomelessgardenproject.org.
The age-old question for HGP’s own homeless garden project remains: “Will they ever find that poor garden a home?” For more than 20 years, the plan has been to move it to Pogonip, a Santa Cruz park. But over the past couple of decades, that plan has hit more bumps than a tractor on a backcountry road. The latest hitch has been the revelation that, back in the day, ol’ Pogonip Club members used to shoot clay pigeons, prompting the city to begin an environmental review to study how much lead contaminated the soil. The organization’s leaders are still eager to get planted, hopefully in 2021.
Living on Earth is living on a planet of duality. We understand night because there is day, up because there is down, right because there is left, darkness because of the light. There are times when duality is presented to us in great measure.
We are in that time now, living as we are in what is spiritually referred to as the Kali Yuga Age—years when the darkness (hiding the promise of light) is allowed to be out and about in the world. Darkness that is equal to the light, a profound duality. This duality is manifesting in our country in language, behaviors, political thinking, and perception.
Duality has purpose. When pointed out, we discern what our position and beliefs are, and more choices become available. Presently, two different political views, like two sides of a gold coin, prevail: the politics of grievance, intolerance and victimhood, and, on the other side, the politics of hope and goodwill. One is bright with promise. The other leads to violence and destruction. One sings, the other is unable. One has hope, the other despair. One allows for freedom, the other suppression. This duality underscores the battle for freedom in our country, and highlights a profound developmental stage within humanity.
Disciples know three things: 1. Before a new harmony emerges, conflict and chaos appear; 2. The promise of freedom is greater than the problems encountered on the journey towards that freedom; 3. The U.S. is an experiment in freedom. On Monday, the Sun enters Leo, sign of individual free thinking—away from tribal, mass thinking. Leo is the sign of the Soul, always choosing goodwill.
ARIES: What is your lineage, what are your cultural roots, your heritage? How are interactions and relations with family and relatives, and how are you feeling about yourself these days? Your energy may be low. You must rest, be in the sun and sleep a bit more, tend more to family and the home, and bring into your environments that which sustains, comforts and supports you. No moods will be allowed.
TAURUS: You may be in touch with past relationships and friends. This will allow you to review not only your self-worth, but also what you value about yourself. You will find that you must begin or assume again plans for community development, new neighborhoods based on community cooperative ideals. Communication between two factions may be needed. Notice any values conflicts. What is right beside you is most important.
GEMINI: A new beginning, a reorientation or a re-evaluation of your values has been called forth. Changes have occurred, opportunities are appearing. You must keep up with these, for you can be a spokesperson for many. A smaller reality must fall away in order for you to embrace a larger one. Usually you’re silent about such things. Who can you talk to now? The soul brightens up each day, calling your personality to choose.
CANCER: A new beginning is occurring for you. A new seed thought has been planted in your heart and mind. I know you sense and feel it. Forces and energies not yet fully known call you to a greater self-discovery. Perhaps it concerns where you live and your present world work. You have/will become more adaptable, which increases your self-acceptance and self-worth. Something ends quietly, and something greater begins.
LEO: Review your career path, your finances and your spiritual knowledge and beliefs. This will shift into focus what is most important for you. You will recommit to something, someplace or someone from long ago. This surprises you. You’re finally learning from (and listening to) others. Many have loved you over lifetimes. What does your heart tell you about these things?
VIRGO: You will enter into regions of the mind not often explored, and will find over time what ideas and beliefs from long ago need elimination so that new regions of the mind can develop. Hidden aspects of self will be encountered. Observe everything. The eclipses brings endings with new beginnings. Along with your retrograde journal, are you writing in your eclipse journal?
LIBRA: Is there a conflict between previous choices and present ways of being? Holding onto the past is a comfort. However, you also want to move forward. You cannot do both. Review what the past means to you and why you made certain decisions that keep you from certain situations and people. The eclipses this month bring forth startling and surprising thoughts, ideas, events, and life changes. The ideas of forgiveness and inclusion follow.
SCORPIO: Bold steps may be taken in areas of goals, culture, study, education, and career. You may even travel a bit, leading to a new direction in life. Careful in the retrograde. Something dramatic and different may occur at work—or has it already? As time passes, you’ll understand the opportunities being offered to you. If you could do anything in the future, what would that be?
SAGITTARIUS: Unexpected events will affect your dream world, your intuition and the place where inspiration comes from. You are to tend to finances once again. It’s important to know what your relationship is with money and sharing with others. This will expand and change. Also, someone may come along in the next three months, and then new ideas and revelations occur. Be charming and kind.
CAPRICORN: Allow yourself to rest more. Don’t be guarded, don’t overwork or stress yourself. If you do, someone or something may catch you off guard. Too many details these days are exhausting and distracting from what’s important. Tell everyone in your environment you need extra help. Create an agenda of tasks for others to do. Allow them to perform those tasks. Then give them stars. In the meantime, lay about and languish a bit.
AQUARIUS: At first the weeks ahead feel uncontrollable, surprising and uncertain. Then you realize life is changing at such a rapid pace that you may as well be happy, expectant and excited about it. This response expands your imagination and vision, elevates and vivifies your life force, and you feel divinely connected to all forms of life, all planes and kingdoms. This, by the way, is joy. Now you can nourish others with it.
PISCES: You will begin to see things—life’s events, choices—in a new light. This will be good. You will learn to not turn away when upset or sad, but to turn toward and make amends. You will also begin to have a calm perspective and faith in the future, knowing what comes forth will be perfect. Something will occur that changes you—a gift, a task, recognition, a new role, a family member, a question.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): An Aries reader sent me a boisterous e-mail. “I was afraid I was getting too bogged down by my duties,” he said, “too hypnotized by routine, too serious about my problems. So I took drastic action.” He then described the ways he broke out of his slump. Here’s an excerpt: “I gave laughing lessons to a cat. I ate a spider. I conducted a sneezing contest. I smashed an alarm clock with a hammer. Whenever an elderly woman walked by, I called out ‘Hail to the Queen!’ and did a backflip. I gave names to my spoon (Hortense), the table (Beatrice), a fly that was buzzing around (Fallon), and a toothpick (Arturo).” According to my analysis of the astrological omens, Aries, you’d be wise to stage a comparable uprising.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Welcome home, homegirls and homeboys. After observing all your homesteading in homes away from home, I’m pleased to see you getting curious about the real home brew again. I wonder how many times I’ll say the word “home” before you register the message that it’s high time for you to home in on some homemade, homegrown homework? Now here’s a special note to any of you who may be feeling psychologically homeless or exiled from your spiritual home: the coming weeks will be a favorable time to address that ache and remedy that problem.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): The world is full of eternally restless people who seethe with confused desires they don’t understand. Fueled by such unfathomable urges, they are driven in unknown directions to accomplish fuzzy goals. They may be obsessed in ways that make them appear to be highly focused, but the objects of their obsession are impossible to attain or unite with. Those objects don’t truly exist! I have described this phenomenon in detail, Gemini, because the coming months will offer you all the help and support you could ever need to make sure you’re forever free of any inclination to be like that.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): What would you say if I asked you to tell me who you truly are? I wouldn’t want to hear so much about your titles and awards. I’d be curious about your sacred mysteries, not your literal history. I’d want to know the treasured secrets you talk about with yourself before you fall asleep. I’d ask you to sing the songs you love and describe the allies who make you feel real. I’d urge you to riff on the future possibilities that both scare you and thrill you. What else? What are some other ways you might show me core truths about your irrepressible soul? Now is a good time to meditate on these riddles.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Isaac Asimov wrote a science fiction story about a physicist who masters time travel and summons William Shakespeare into the present time. The Bard enrolls in a night school class about his own plays—and proceeds to flunk the course. Modern ideas and modes of discourse are simply too disorienting to him. He is unable to grasp the theories that centuries worth of critics have developed about his work. With this as a cautionary tale, I invite you to time-travel not four centuries into the future, but just 10 years. From that vantage point, look back at the life you’re living now. How would you evaluate and understand it? Do you have any constructive criticism to offer? Any insights that could help you plan better for your long-term future?
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to buy yourself toys, change your image for no rational reason and indulge in an interesting pleasure that you have been denying yourself for no good reason. In addition, I hope you will engage in at least two heart-to-heart talks with yourself, preferably using funny voices and comical body language. You could also align yourself gracefully with cosmic rhythms by dancing more than usual, and by goofing off more than usual, and by wandering in the wilderness and seeking to recapture your lost innocence more than usual.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Although you’ll never find an advertisement for Toyota or Coca-Cola or Apple within my horoscope column, you will find hype for spiritual commodities like creativity, love and freedom. Like everyone else, I’m a huckster. My flackery may be more ethical and uplifting than others’, but the fact is that I still try to persuade you to “buy” my ideas. The moral of the story: everyone, even the Dalai Lama or Desmond Tutu, is selling something. I hope that what I’m saying here purges any reluctance you might have about presenting yourself and your ideas in the most favorable light. It’s high time for you to hone your sales pitch—to explain why your approach to life is so wise, to be a forceful spokesperson and role model for the values you hold dear.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): You are growing almost too fast, but that won’t necessarily be a problem—as long as you don’t expect everyone around you to grow as fast as you. I suspect that you also know almost too much, but I don’t anticipate that will spawn envy and resistance as long as you cultivate a bit of humility. I have an additional duty to report that you’re on the verge of being too attractive for your own good—although you have not yet actually reached the tipping point, so maybe your hyper-attractiveness will serve you rather than undermine you. In conclusion, Scorpio, I invite you to celebrate your abundance, but don’t flaunt it.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): The snow leopards of Central Asia crave a lot of room to wander. Zoologists say that each male prefers its territory to be about 84 square miles, and each female likes to have 44 square miles. I don’t think you’ll require quite that vast a turf in the coming weeks, Sagittarius. But on the other hand, it will be important not to underestimate the spaciousness you’ll need in order to thrive. Give yourself permission to be expansive.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “I want to do things so wild with you that I don’t know how to say them.” Author Anaïs Nin wrote that in a letter to her Capricorn lover Henry Miller. Is there anyone you could or should or want to say something like that to? If your answer is yes, now is a good time to be so candid and bold. If the answer is no, now would be a good time to scout around for a person to whom you could or should or want to say such a thing. And if you’d like to throw in a bit more enticement, here’s another seductive lyric from Anaïs: “Only the united beat of sex and heart together can create ecstasy.”
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): Did you hear the story about the California mom who started a series of forest fires to boost her son’s career as a firefighter? She is an apt role model for behavior you should diligently avoid in the coming weeks. It’s unwise and unprofitable for you and yours to stir up a certain kind of trouble simply because it’s trouble that you and yours have become skilled at solving. So how should you use your problem-solving energy, which I suspect will be at a peak? I suggest you go hunting for some very interesting and potentially productive trouble that you haven’t wrangled with before—some rousing challenge that will make you even smarter than you already are.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): The heroine of Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass is curious, adventurous and brave. First, she follows a well-dressed rabbit down a rabbit hole into an alternate universe. Later, she slips through a mirror into yet another parallel reality. Both times, with great composure, she navigates her way through many odd, paranormal, and unpredictable events. She enjoys herself immensely as she deals with a series of unusual characters and unfamiliar situations. I’m going to speculate that Alice is a Pisces. Are you ready for your very own Alice-in-Wonderland phase? Here it comes!
Homework: Name something you could change about yourself that might enhance your love life. Testify at freewillastrology.com.
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, whostudied 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.
