Page 754 – Good Times

Health Officials Analyze and Respond to Hepatitis A Outbreak

Local News

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September 26, 2017

Health Officials Analyze and Respond to Hepatitis A Outbreak

When health officials looked at the recent spread of Hepatitis A across California, some began noticing a pattern—and not a familiar one.

The first Hepatitis A outbreak began in San Diego, where there have been 450 cases to date, and the disease was found in Santa Cruz after that. Soon, confirmed Santa Cruz-related cases popped up in the counties of Santa Clara, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles and Riverside, says county Public Health Officer Arnold Leff.

Leff says Hepatitis A is found primarily within known “vulnerable” populations, mostly intravenous drug users and the homeless. The trail of cases statewide reveals an insight that Leff didn’t expect, regarding the travel patterns of at least a slice of California’s transient population.

“It’s surprising that folks are traveling as far as they are,” Leff says. According to the 2017 Homeless Census Survey, 68 percent of local homeless people lived in the county prior to becoming homeless, similar to many other California communities.

With 71 cases of the disease discovered in the county, health workers are literally going door to door at local businesses, mostly in the downtown area, to talk about risks and prevention. They’ve connected with almost 1,000 people so far, warning them to wash their hands and to clean bathrooms that are open to the public with a bleach solution. Health workers have been in talks with city officials and staff, including new Police Chief Andy Mills, whose officers have been checking in with the homeless they interact with and reminding them to get vaccinated.

Mills, who’s worked at departments from San Diego to Humboldt, isn’t sure the Hepatitis A map tells us much about hypothetical transient travel patterns. It might say more, he argues, about the conditions that many homeless people are living in, all over the state. “I’ve talked to numerous homeless. Like all other people, they enjoy traveling. They may do it more frequently, whereas many of us have homes, and we can’t do it as freely,” he says.

Hepatitis A spreads when someone comes in contact with an infected person’s feces, sometimes when hands are not properly washed after going to the bathroom.

City public works employees installed new wash stations outside each of the downtown portable toilets, and they are sending two cleaning crews per day downtown, one with steam cleaning equipment and another with sidewalk scrubbers, according to parking services manager Marlin Granlund. Public Works spokesperson Janice Bisgaard says crews are now cleaning the area outside the post office every week, instead of every other week, based on “complaints of foul odors and uncleanliness.”

Leff says the local outbreak seemed to originate from an epicenter in downtown Santa Cruz, although the health department isn’t sure exactly where. County health officials, he says, took a van loaded with vaccines up and down the San Lorenzo River levee, as part of an effort to get the word out.

The health department has also been holding vaccination clinics, including at the Homeless Services Center and the Emeline Avenue health building. Many pharmacies carry the vaccine as well, usually for a little more than $100, although many insurers cover the cost.

There have been no new cases since the county reached 71 cases a few weeks ago, but the incubation time, when infected people show no symptoms, can last up to a month and a half.

Santa Cruz County normally sees an average of one or two cases per year, and Leff says the first cases this year were in early April. By the beginning of May, the county had declared a level 1 emergency and began contacting local clinics. The first media release went out in early June, and the county officially declared an outbreak last month.

Chief Mills says that if people look out for themselves and get their vaccines, the illness should stop in its tracks.

“We truly care about all our brothers and sisters here and all the homeless in Santa Cruz,” Mills says. “And so we would like to encourage all people in Santa Cruz to get inoculated.”

‘The Gail Project’ Opens at Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery

A&E
Art

Christina Waters

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September 26, 2017

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‘The Gail Project’ Opens at Mary Porter Sesnon Gallery

Such provocative images. So just where exactly is Okinawa?, I wondered, sitting with the maps and photographs Shelby Graham had brought to our interview. The name had always remained mysterious to me until I saw dramatic evidence of the island’s strategic location in the Pacific vortex between China, Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines. No wonder it has been the site of so much political rivalry and physical beauty throughout the centuries. An in-depth glimpse of the island’s legacy will be showcased with The Gail Project, an international history project exploring the founding years of the American military occupation of Okinawa after World War II.

“It started with a suite of historic photographs taken by [American Army Captain] Charles Gail during the Korean War,” explains curator Shelby Graham. This rare collection was generously donated in 2013 to UCSC Special Collections by Gail’s daughter, Geri Gail, a former UCSC staff member who believed the images would be most useful in an educational setting. But in order to yield an emotional connection with the old black and white images, Graham realized she needed context. Turns out that UCSC is that rare institution with an Okinawa specialist—History Professor Alan Christy—on its faculty. Christy recently took a small group of student researchers and faculty on a trip to Okinawa especially to re-visit those sites first captured by Gail’s lens. It was the beginning of fresh oral histories, discoveries, and an intensive program of searching out and re-photographing some of the iconic places Gail had originally captured. “Being in Okinawa in 2017 with this group was a profound site-specific learning experience,” says Shelby Graham, director/curator of the Mary Porter Sesnon Art Gallery. “We all witnessed and walked on landscapes simultaneously beautiful and brutal—it was unforgettable and timely, a research opportunity for all”

Christy is also The Gail Project’s director, and co-director of the Center for the Study of Pacific War Memories at UCSC. “One of the signs of the history becoming real is when it takes an emotional hold, whether that is excitement, joy, sadness, or anger,” he explains. “It also comes with gaining a sense of the place and space itself, which gives to them a deeper understanding of the complexity of any event, the way that many people and many forces can play out differently in a single space.”

Working with the Gail photos, “which show an Okinawa that is largely gone, but still has locatable traces, meant that the students became really close readers of the landscape, of exhibitions in local museums and of texts that they encountered,” he adds. Students discovered the locations of Gail’s original photos. “And that gave the background to the scene that was photographed by Charles Gail, and that meant that they were honing their skills of observation and connection.”

The upcoming exhibition will display an array of new color photographs alongside the older images of the same sites, plus oral histories and wall text. “Okinawa has had a complicated relationship with the U.S. military presence, and a blend of cultures, especially that of Japan,” Graham notes. “The exhibit is about learning history in a different way, exploring multiple perspectives and building a dialogue.”

And this is just the start, promises Christy. “We intend to travel the show from here to Okinawa and then to locations in the Okinawan diaspora, including (hopefully) Osaka, Hawaii, Los Angeles, São Paolo, and, possibly, Bolivia, before we return to Santa Cruz for a final show. And through our website, we hope to be building a growing archive of oral histories about the postwar Okinawan-American relationship.”

Intriguing and little-known history, alive and accessible, forms the heart of this bold international project.

Info: The Gail Project: An Okinawan-American Dialogue, opening reception is 5-7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 5. at the Gallery above the Porter College Koi Pond. Free and open to the public through Dec. 2. More info at art.ucsc.edu/sesnon.

Preview: Middle Kids to Play Catalyst Atrium

A&E
Music

Aaron Carnes

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September 26, 2017

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Preview: Middle Kids to Play Catalyst Atrium

For a moment, you can see genuine surprise on Conan O’Brien’s face as he shakes Hannah Joy’s hand. Her band Middle Kids have just finished their performance of “The Edge of Town” on his show, and they killed.

The dynamics and underlying passion of the song brings to mind Bruce Springsteen, with the group bringing spine-tingling harmonies to the indie-rock chorus. When they played it on the show, they rocked the ending out hard, unleashing everything they’d been holding back for the bulk of the song. It’s no wonder O’Brien looked shocked.

This was back in February, when the Australian four-piece had only played one small U.S. tour. They hadn’t even been a band for a year.

Around that same time, Middle Kids released a self-titled EP. There’s a full-length in the works too. On the band’s current three-month tour—they stop in Santa Cruz on Sept. 30—they will stop in Connecticut to mix the tracks for a full-length that is expected to get an early 2018 release on Domino Records.

But everything leads back to “The Edge of Town,” the first song the band ever wrote and released, even before they had played a show together. At that point, Middle Kids was more of a side project for its members. Joy in particular had been pursuing a solo career. Guitarist Tim Fitz had a different band.

“We kind of threw it out there, not really knowing what the response was going to be. So then we had to catch up, ’cause people liked it more than we thought they would,” Joy says.

They saw something not only in the response, but also in how they collaborate as a group. Joy primarily writes the bare-bones elements of the music. Before Middle Kids, she wrote mostly on the piano, and had more of a singer-songwriter execution of her music.

“The very nature of writing and playing on the guitar kind of toughens it up in a way that I’ve really enjoyed. Tim brings a lot of his influences to that,” Joy says. “That song was just so cool. It opened the floodgates. It felt like, ‘oh this is so our strength’ in terms of that indie rock vibe. We had all these other songs that took that vibe so well.”

In no time, “The Edge of Town” was a hit on Triple J, pretty much the only station for indie rock in all of Australia. Middle Kids quickly became everyone’s main full-time project.

The invitation to perform on Conan came a few months later. The group was playing at a festival that Joy says is the “South by Southwest of Australia.” A man introduced himself to the band’s manager and said that he booked for Conan O’Brien’s show, and wanted them to play.

Meanwhile, the EP captures the unique songwriting of Joy and Fitz, as well as their live energy, which pushes and pulls with outward energy and internal reflective calm. It’s not a unique recipe, but the execution of it is exceptional, and shows the promise of a young band. For their upcoming full-length, they hope to expand on it without straying from what made it so good. Joy says the biggest difference is that it might feel a little bigger: “Like when we’re strumming a million guitars and you’re playing four on the floor.”

When Middle Kids comes through Santa Cruz, it will have been just roughly 13 months since their first show, so they are still discovering who they are. They hope to do a lot more live shows to find out.

“We love this project so much, so we have no qualms with making it the thing for our life,” says Joy.

INFO: 9 p.m. Sept. 30, Catalyst Atrium, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $15. 429-4135.

The Benefits of Writing by Hand

Andrew Steingrube

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September 26, 2017

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Don’t worry, you won’t be tested on any of this material. But if you were to be, the first thing most people would do is start taking notes. Today, that can mean a couple of things: Going the tech route and using a state-of-the-art laptop or tablet, or keeping it classic and busting out an old-school notebook and pen. So which way is more effective?—an especially relevant question given the recent dawning of another school year, and scientific research may help provide an answer.

A 2014 study published in Psychological Science produced results that strongly suggest handwritten notes are superior to typed digital ones. The study’s authors had university students watch TED talk videos and either take notes by typing on a laptop or writing by hand. About 30 minutes later, and without going back to review their notes, the two groups did equally well in their ability to remember factual information such as dates. But the handwritten note takers did significantly better when it came to conceptual-application questions like “How do Japan and Sweden differ in their approaches to equality within their societies?”

The authors, hailing from Princeton University and UCLA, attributed these results to the fact that we can’t write as fast as we can type. So in a “less is more” kind of way, the handwritten note takers were forced to process, internalize, and selectively write down only the information they felt most important—a method that leads to deeper understanding. The laptop group, on the other hand, simply typed every word they heard without giving the material as much conscious and critical thought. So, the researchers delved deeper and had a second study condition where they overtly and specifically told the laptop group not to write down information verbatim and instead type notes as they would if they were handwriting. But the instinct for exact transcription was still too strong in these participants, and the handwritten note takers performed better once again.

Next, the study’s authors wondered if the laptop group would benefit from being able to go back and review their more extensive and thorough notes after the lecture and before the test. So they ran a third study condition, but even in this scenario, the handwritten note-takers still outperformed their digital counterparts. The study’s findings seem to suggest that pen and paper notes are superior to typed digital ones not only in terms of encoding the information initially, but also when reviewed and studied after the fact.

Julie Salido, a history teacher at San Lorenzo Valley High, says that about two-thirds to three-quarters of her students take notes by hand, using pen and paper. She says that the process of writing information down helps in and of itself, but adds that technology devices do work better for some. “It’s so individual, we all process and retain information differently,” she says. One problem with digital note-taking, she says, is that she can’t see what’s on the student’s screen, making it hard to know if they are actually taking notes, and that for group-based activities technology can take kids out of that social setting. “It needs to be used thoughtfully,” she says.

Serena Palumbo, an English teacher at Santa Cruz High, says that in her class all of the notes are handwritten. “Taking handwritten notes helps the students stay engaged and forces them to decide what’s important in that information,” she says, adding that this style of notetaking reinforces and builds critical thinking skills that can come in handy in many areas of life. “And it’s not just writing things down,” she says, “It’s knowing how and when to go back and use the notes properly as an interactive study tool.”

Even younger children who have grown up right alongside laptops and tablets can appreciate the benefits of handwritten notes. “Many of my students are artistic and like to include hand drawings in written notes or alter their handwriting style to match the topic,” says Jessica Pitsch, a fifth grade teacher at Soquel Elementary. She says that her students are equally comfortable using handwritten notes and technology like Chromebook for writing assignments, having been exposed to and using a combination of them both from a young age. She asks her students to use handwritten notes for brainstorming and while reading books, especially on sticky notes that can be placed right in the book itself. “Writing is thinking,” says Pitsch. “It’s about the process over the product.”

Preview: Second Annual Vanilla Festival at Food Lounge

Christina Waters

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September 26, 2017

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Preview: Second Annual Vanilla Festival at Food Lounge

Vanilla expert Patricia Rain joins chef David Jackman at the Santa Cruz Food Lounge this Friday, Sept. 29 for the second annual Vanilla Festival. If there’s anything about vanilla that Rain doesn’t know, it probably isn’t worth knowing. The author of two books on the rare and popular spice, Rain will take diners on a visual tour of six unique vanilla farms around the world, as they enjoy Jackman’s four-course meal featuring vanilla in every dish. Rain gave us some details about her lifelong passion, and it sounds like it will be fascinating as well as delicious.

Do you think that people are becoming more sophisticated in their spice sensibility?

PATRICIA RAIN: A lot has changed since my first vanilla recipe book came out in 1986. The biggest shift I’ve noticed in vanilla (as well as chocolate and coffee) in the past decade is the interest in purchasing pure vanilla extract that is also fairly traded and/or certified organic.

While it’s exciting that more people are conscious about the foods, flavors and spices they use, and that many more people use pure vanilla in beverages, baking and savory cuisine, vanilla remains one of the most under-utilized flavors/spices available followed by allspice, which is also an amazing and very versatile spice.

What gives you the most pleasure in educating people about the intricacies of vanilla?

I care deeply about the people who work so hard and take so many risks to grow the foods we eat every day. We are so spoiled nationally, but especially locally, in that so many different foods are available to us, and the majority of these foods are of very good quality and also affordable.

That said, we often take for granted our morning cup of coffee, the chocolate bar we enjoy in the afternoon and the scoop of vanilla ice cream in our coffee or on our pie. These three luxury crops are primarily grown by smallholder farmers on one or two acres of land. Early on I realized that the smallholder growers needed a voice in the industrialized world. While cacao and coffee are traded on the international commodities market, vanilla isn’t, and because it isn’t, there aren’t international associations representing the growers or helping them. Then, in the 1990s the Mexican growers asked me to help them try to save their local industry. It was at that point that I began to focus not only on helping them by promoting vanilla but also to educate the world about the growers.

Why is pure vanilla in danger of going extinct?

There has been a crisis in the vanilla industry, largely man made, for the last three-plus years. Vanilla is now $600 a kilo at the source. This means that a gallon of pure, high-quality vanilla extract made in the U.S. would cost $600–or more. (For more about the crisis, go to vanillaqueen.com/learn.)

Corruption is a big issue as is political instability. And given that coffee, chocolate and vanilla are all grown in the developing world, and because they are so labor-intensive, corruption, political instability and a weak governmental infrastructure play a big role in endangering vanilla.

Another game changer is the changing climate and how it is impacting these three luxury crops. This is why I committed to speak in Ecuador at the World Orchid Conference. My scientist friends will also be there, and we need to talk.

Coffee and cacao have big associations invested in keeping those crops alive and thriving. None exist for vanilla. This is why I’m hoping to get a conversation going between scientists and growers, and the scientists working with cacao and coffee, to share information and possibly even resources to keep these crops thriving as long as possible.

Info: Vanilla Festival is from 6-9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 29. Tickets are $55 and don’t include beverages, tax or gratuity. For tickets and more info, including menu details, visit eventbrite.com.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology Sept 27 – Oct 3

Rob Brezsny

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September 26, 2017

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Free Will astrology for the week of September 27, 2017.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): Conceptual artist Jonathon Keats likes to play along with the music of nature. On one occasion he collaborated with Mandeville Creek in Montana. He listened and studied the melodies that emanated from its flowing current. Then he moved around some of the underwater rocks, subtly changing the creek’s song. Your assignment, Aries, is to experiment with equally imaginative and exotic collaborations. The coming weeks will be a time when you can make beautiful music together with anyone or anything that tickles your imagination.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Some newspapers publish regular rectifications of the mistakes they’ve made in past editions. For example, the editors of the UK publication The Guardian once apologized to readers for a mistaken statement about Richard Wagner. They said that when the 19th-century German composer had trysts with his chambermaid, he did not in fact ask her to wear purple underpants, as previously reported. They were pink underpants. I tell you this, Taurus, as encouragement to engage in corrective meditations yourself. Before bedtime on the next ten nights, scan the day’s events and identify any actions you might have done differently—perhaps with more integrity or focus or creativity. This will have a deeply tonic effect. You are in a phase of your astrological cycle when you’ll flourish as you make amendments and revisions.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): It’s high time to allow your yearnings to overflow … to surrender to the vitalizing pleasures of nonrational joy … to grant love the permission to bless you and confound you with its unruly truths. For inspiration, read this excerpt of a poem by Caitlyn Siehl. “My love is honey tongue. Thirsty love. My love is peach juice dripping down the neck. Too much sugar love. Sticky sweet, sticky sweat love. My love can’t ride a bike. My love walks everywhere. Wanders through the river. Feeds the fish, skips the stones. Barefoot love. My love stretches itself out on the grass, kisses a nectarine. My love is never waiting. My love is a traveler.”

CANCER (June 21-July 22): One of the oldest houses in Northern Europe is called the Knap of Howar. Built out of stone around 3,600 B.C., it faces the wild sea on Papa Westray, an island off the northern coast of Scotland. Although no one has lived there for 5,000 years, some of its stone furniture remains intact. Places like this will have a symbolic power for you in the coming weeks, Cancerian. They’ll tease your imagination and provoke worthwhile fantasies. Why? Because the past will be calling to you more than usual. The old days and old ways will have secrets to reveal and stories to teach. Listen with alert discernment.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): The United States has a bizarre system for electing its president. There’s nothing like it in any other democratic nation on earth. Every four years, the winning candidate needs only to win the electoral college, not the popular vote. So theoretically, it’s possible to garner just 23 percent of all votes actually cast, and yet still ascend to the most powerful political position in the world. For example, in two of the last five elections, the new chief of state has received significantly fewer votes than his main competitor. I suspect that you may soon benefit from a comparable anomaly, Leo. You’ll be able to claim victory on a technicality. Your effort may be “ugly,” yet good enough to succeed.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): I found this advertisement for a workshop: “You will learn to do the incredible! Smash bricks with your bare hands! Walk on fiery coals unscathed! Leap safely off a roof! No broken bones! No cuts! No pain! Accomplish the impossible first! Then everything else will be a breeze!” I bring this to your attention, Virgo, not because I think you should sign up for this class or anything like it. I hope you don’t. In fact, a very different approach is preferable for you: I recommend that you start with safe, manageable tasks. Master the simple details and practical actions. Work on achieving easy, low-risk victories. In this way, you’ll prepare yourself for more epic efforts in the future.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Be realistic, Libra: Demand the impossible; expect inspiration; visualize yourself being able to express yourself more completely and vividly than you ever have before. Believe me when I tell you that you now have extra power to develop your sleeping potentials, and are capable of accomplishing feats that might seem like miracles. You are braver than you know, as sexy as you need to be, and wiser than you were two months ago. I am not exaggerating, nor am I flattering you. It’s time for you to start making your move to the next level.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In accordance with the astrological omens, I invite you to take extra good care of yourself during the next three weeks. Do whatever it takes to feel safe and protected and resilient. Ask for the support you need, and if the people whose help you solicit can’t or won’t give it to you, seek elsewhere. Provide your body with more than the usual amount of healthy food, deep sleep, tender touch, and enlivening movement. Go see a psychotherapist or counselor or good listener every single day if you want. And don’t you dare apologize or feel guilty for being such a connoisseur of self-respect and self-healing.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): A queen bee may keep mating until she gathers 70 million sperm from many different drones. When composing my horoscopes, I aim to cultivate a metaphorically comparable receptivity. Long ago, I realized that all of creation is speaking to me all the time; I recognized that everyone I encounter is potentially a muse or teacher. If I hope to rustle up the oracles that are precisely suitable for your needs, I have to be alert to the possibility that they may arrive from unexpected directions and surprising sources. Can you handle being that open to influence, Sagittarius? Now is a favorable time to expand your capacity to be fertilized.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Yo’’re approaching a rendezvous with prime time. Any minute now you could receive an invitation to live up to your hype or fulfill your promises to yourself—or both. This test is likely to involve an edgy challenge that is both fun and daunting, both liberating and exacting. It will have the potential to either steal a bit of your soul or else heal an ache in your soul. To ensure the healing occurs rather than the stealing, do your best to understand why the difficulty and the pleasure are both essential.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): In 1901, physician Duncan MacDougall carried out experiments that led him to conclude that the average human soul weighs 21 grams. Does his claim have any merit? That question is beyond my level of expertise. But if he was right, then I’m pretty sure your soul has bulked up to at least 42 grams in the past few weeks. The work you’ve been doing to refine and cultivate your inner state has been heroic. It’s like you’ve been ingesting a healthy version of soul-building steroids. Congrats!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): There are enough authorities, experts, and know-it-alls out there trying to tell you what to think and do. In accordance with current astrological factors, I urge you to utterly ignore them during the next two weeks. And do it gleefully, not angrily. Exult in the power that this declaration of independence gives you to trust your own assessments and heed your own intuitions. Furthermore, regard your rebellion as good practice for dealing with the little voices in your head that speak for those authorities, experts, and know-it-alls. Rise up and reject their shaming and criticism, too. Shield yourself from their fearful fantasies.

Homework: Would I enjoy following you on Twitter or Tumblr? Send me links to your tweets or posts. Tr**********@gm***.com

Pluto Direct & Yom Kippur—Our Names Written in the Book of Life

Risa D’Angeles

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September 26, 2017

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Pluto Direct & Yom Kippur—Our Names Written in the Book of Life

Pluto, planet of transformation, god of the underworld who captured Persephone, the Ray 1 agent of both destruction and creation, after five months of retrograde (outer planets are retrograde 60 percent of the time in order to transform us), finally turns stationary direct, on Thursday, Sept. 28. Pluto direct means all inner changes we have experienced will now be evident, apparent, clear and visible in our daily lives. This includes individuals and groups, governments and nations. Pluto clears the decks, breaks things down, transforms them, destroys illusions, frees and detaches us from what is no longer useful (Pluto in Capricorn). Pluto, through constant little deaths, through tests and trials and being on the “battleground,” develops within us spiritual will.

In Judaism, there are High Holy Days in which God observes humanity’s actions and comes to a verdict as to each of our holiness. The observation began last week, on Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year). God opened the Book of Judgment and observed our acts of goodness, kindness, forgiveness and service. God’s judgment has been “pending” since then. Prayers, forgiveness and service were required this week. Then on Yom Kippur (Saturday, Sept. 30, Forgiveness, Day of Atonement), the judgment of our lives is “sealed” by God and the Heavenly Court.

However, in God’s wisdom, the verdict is not finalized. We are given additional time to redeem ourselves (until Sukkoth—Autumn Festival—on Oct. 5-11) and hope that God will see that we were/are “good.” Good is always better than perfect.

May everyone be inscribed by God in the Creation Book of Life. Let us prepare plates of apples and honey, pomegranates and wine, sharing with family & friends wishing everyone an upcoming “sweet & prosperous year.”

ARIES: Something appears, is seen, recognized, brought to balance and creates an interlude in your relationship(s). Perhaps you identify how to have true Right Relations with those who love you. Perhaps you learn that through relationships your true self emerges because relationships are an I/Thou situation. Realizing these things balances you, provides structure, discipline and leads to true heart-to-heart intimacy.

TAURUS: There are times when others tell you their deepest needs. Sometimes you can’t hear or understand them. This week your needs, usually hidden and unknown to you, thus hardly ever tended, emerge. Changes, small and subtle, begin to manifest in how you express yourself and the stating of long term wishes, desires and wants. Since your usual word is “no” (which really means, “Wait, I need to think on this”) everyone, surprised, listens attentively.

GEMINI: Who is your family? What does family mean to you? Perhaps family means criticism and judgments or gardens of nourishment. Whatever family signifies for you, it’s time to create your own family, incorporating balance and love, discipline and rules, kindness and communication into yours. Think on this. It’s a time to recreate certain new plans and ideals. Perhaps things you never had before. The time has arrived.

CANCER: You’re both in the world and not, at home is wherever you are. Family’s close by and yet sometimes, not. They’re in your heart. You have spiritual work to accomplish. A new set of realities concerning resources. A new healing plan. Your specific skills are a deeply needed resource. Share them for they need recognition. They nurture and nourish and so many are grateful. Including the kingdoms.

LEO: A tradition, perhaps religious and intelligent, performed physically becomes important in order to summon you to a new discipline, structure and ritual that bring more order and stability to your life. Perhaps you’re remembering a parent, teacher, grandparent, someone older and wiser, who instilled ethics and justice, seeing you as an equal. Who is this person? What is this ritual? Honor it all.

VIRGO: You have resources in common with another. Resources don’t only refer to money. They include possessions and values held in common, intimacy, interaction and relationship. There’s a question about relationship and perhaps a feeling of restriction and grief? Recognize the beginnings of your relationships and their original value. Can you discover this again? What seems so far away is usually what is closest.

LIBRA: This is an important passage of time—a growing up and maturing developmental stage for you. There’s a challenge to change, frustrations and time issues, shadows and pressures and within all of this, a wisdom seeking to guide you. There will be times of absolute stillness and times of acceleration. Saturn loves you. He is your father, guide, disciplinarian, your Dweller on the Threshold. Have forgiveness always.

SCORPIO: Your deepest desires come forth and although directed at others, the reality is that the biggest desires are to know the self, to create a new image that better defines you, and the need for partnership between your emotions, intellect, body and Soul. Emotions will be passionate; people may shy away should you display depth of feeling. Assess who’s safe, who understands, who will stand with you.

SAGITTARIUS: Turn toward your religious roots. The teachings are guidelines that illumine and make sturdy your inner and outer life. This may sound old fashioned. However, a major planet is traveling through that sector of your life now, providing you with needed direction. Another choice is to remain within self-enforced contemplation, solitude and seclusion. Include music and good food, too.

CAPRICORN: A cycle ends and a new cycle begins. Everything now is connected to the harvest festival, the gathering of summer fruits, safeguarding them in a root cellar darkness. It’s time to begin fall and winter planting. Study bio-dynamics, using special plant, animal and mineral (homeopathic) preparations, following the rhythmic influences of the sun, moon, planets, stars (of which you are one).

AQUARIUS: As an entirely different set of ideals (values, goals) appear, you begin to view your life differently. Notice rules have changed, previous values become less important, things taken for granted are no longer useful, and perhaps your faith is being tested. It’s time for new studies, adventures and travels to new cultures. The confusion felt will not last forever. Life becomes more realistic. You do, too.

PISCES: You think about life and death, the changing seasons. Take walks morning and evening. Stand in the light of sunrise and twilight. Make contact with the elements, the plant kingdom in particular, the most balanced kingdom. Gather seeds, pods, notice changing colors, view the architecture, notice what soothes and comforts. Read A Pattern Language by Christopher Alexander. Begin a new journal of hope. Life finds you very soon.

Open Studios Art Tour 2017

GT Staff

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September 25, 2017

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A co-production of Arts Council Santa Cruz County and Good Times

Open Studios Art Tour is your opportunity to explore creativity in Santa Cruz County. For the first three weekends in October, artists from the redwoods to the bay open their studios so that friends, neighbors, and strangers from near and far can meet the makers and step inside the creative process throughout this stunning county.

Use this Guide to personalize your tour. Download the FREE App to make your touring experience even easier. If this is your first tour, or if you’ve been attending for years—Welcome! Please consider every Open Studios directional green sign as your own personal welcome mat. Our artists look forward to sharing their art with you.

Our 2017 Tour features 302 artists working in dozens of mediums. You’ll find seasoned artists who’ve participated since 1986, talented newcomers, and makers and creators of all kinds.

Welcome, and enjoy!

Tour Dates

October 7 & 8: North County—From the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor on up, including Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley, San Lorenzo Valley and the artists tucked among the north coast mountain communities.

October 14 & 15: South County—From Watsonville to the Santa Cruz Yacht Harbor, South County boasts marvelous artists and venues throughout the towns and countryside.

October 21 & 22: All County—All across the county, most artists open again for the final weekend.

Hours: 11am to 5pm

About the Arts Council Santa Cruz County:

We’re the team that produces the Open Studios Art Tour—and so much more. We love Santa Cruz County and our daily work finds us supporting artists and arts organizations in dozens of ways to make our community stronger. With a mission to promote, connect, and invest in the arts to stimulate creativity and vibrancy in Santa Cruz County, we’ve been the bedrock of our arts community since 1979. Through grants, arts education programs, and community initiatives such as Ebb & Flow, we help Santa Cruz County flourish. Learn more at artscouncilsc.org.

Opinion September 20, 2017

Steve Palopoli

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September 20, 2017

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EDITOR’S NOTE

I occasionally get some teasing from friends when I tell them we have a Fashion Issue. “A Santa Cruz fashion issue? So it’s about worst fashion?” “Does it hurt your eyes?” “Can’t you just make it about tie-dye every year?” Oh yeah, I’ve heard it all. But look at the local fashion stories we’ve covered this week. First, FashionART continues to blur the line between clothing design and high art. Take a look at the pieces featured in these pages—some of them are simply meant to push the boundaries of what is considered possible in fashion (which is interesting enough in itself), but some are much more practical, genuinely wearable great looks. And there’s also Georgia Johnson’s profile of Santa Cruz’s Vicki Noble, who I love for being unapologetically old-school Santa Cruz while at the same time making a huge impact in the world of high fashion with the tarot designs that have been picked up by Dior for their 2018 line. So take that, people who say Santa Cruz has no fashion sense. Now, let’s see, do these Ugg boots go with my bike shorts? Oh, hell yes!

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

Statuesque

In your Aug. 30 issue, by asking “What should we do with historical statues that some people find offensive?” Matthew Cole Scott implicitly endorsed the Trump administration’s framing of the issue as overly sensitive people trying to erase history. In fact, the statues in question across the U.S. were not erected to commemorate history, but rather as symbols of white supremacy, intended to intimidate non-white community members. This is demonstrated by examining when the statues were built, which was not after the Civil War, but rather in the 1910s and 1920s when states were erecting Jim Crow laws, and in the 1950s and 1960s to oppose the Civil Rights movement. They aren’t much more historical than a swastika spray-painted on an overpass, and they mean about the same thing. A more accurate wording of the question would have been, “Should we remove statues built by segregationists to commemorate the Confederacy?”

Alex Kane

Santa Cruz

Fake News!

I’d like to provide some balance regarding Gary Griggs’ fear-mongering interview in “Crisis Points” (GT, 8.23) by Maria Grusauskas. Her loaded questions were more like pro-climate change/global warming statements as she threw softball after slow-pitch softballs at him. (I’m sure he got the questions in advance.)

I know of no credible scientific evidence proving climate change is man-made, but is influenced mostly by changes in sunspot activity and volcanic activity, way beyond all of our control. The British “scientists” were busted red-handed in an email investigation fudging data to create the infamous hockey stick graph, disproving future temperature rises. Apparently, we are actually in a 17-year-cooling trend at this time according to a very comprehensive article recently published by a rival local publication.

Greg begins at least two responses with “our best projections.” All computer models are designed by flawed humans with an agenda in mind and are therefore, only biased guesses, and are usually proven wrong. He clearly has his agenda working for him. He should be honest and place a margin of error on any crystal ball prediction as any serious scientist would do. I recall a Time magazine or similar publication not too long ago with the front cover falsely claiming “The upcoming Ice Age!” Why does he think they’re right now? A political poll right before the last presidential election stated that Hillary had a 97 percent chance of winning. How did that work out for y’all?

There were some interesting facts in there, but everything falls apart when the future predictions are tossed up into the ether.

Legan

Corralitos

Though we received some interesting and nuanced critiques of our cover story on climate change … this was not one of them. In running this letter, it only seems responsible to point out that the worldwide scientific consensus on man-made climate change is running at about 97 percent. — Editor

Rising Seas

Unfortunately, Richard Nolthenius (Letters, 9/13) is quite correct about Gary Griggs’ understatement of the pace and extent of sea level rise. Though Griggs is rightly concerned about the problem, he is not using the very latest estimates. But there’s a further disconnect that Nolthenius doesn’t mention. Climate scientists’ projections are created using computer models, which are highly sensitive to the input data. This is why the predictions have such a wide range of variation and high level of uncertainty. However, many paleontologists and paleoclimatologists have been warning us of the severity of the problem. Why? Because their evidence shows that the last time Earth’s atmosphere had the same concentrations of CO2 that we see today, sea level was 100 feet higher! Well over a billion people live within a hundred feet of sea level. The devastation will be global and catastrophic. And unless we implement an effective carbon tax ASAP, things will get even worse. I certainly wish this was the hyperbolic hysteria that climate change deniers think it is, but sadly there’s far too much science to back it up.

Mordecai Shapiro | Santa Cruz

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

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

GOOD IDEA

BIN THERE
As the market for recycled materials declines globally, the Santa Cruz County government is asking people to cut back on their use of plastics. The county, which manages the Buena Vista Landfill and the Ben Lomond Transfer Station, asks residents to shop at farmers markets, skip the plastic bag when buying produce, bring containers from home, buy in bulk, avoid products with excess packaging and stop buying bottled water. For more information, go to santacruzcountyrecycles.org.

GOOD WORK

HEALTHY CHANGE
Guevara, Santa Cruz’s economic development manager, will be leaving local government for the healthcare world. Guevara has been chosen to be the development director for Santa Cruz Community Health Centers (SCCHC). Through its East Cliff Family Health Center and downtown Women’s Health Center, SCCHC has nearly 12,000 local patients. Guevara aims to increase SCCHC’s capacity to increase funding, develop new partnerships, attract supporters and raise awareness about critical health care issues.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“I get it, them finales / They got you focused / But just record the show / And show up at the protest.”
-Chance the Rapper, at the Emmys

5 Things to Do in Santa Cruz County Sept 20-26

GT Staff

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September 20, 2017

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5 Things to Do in Santa Cruz County Sept 20-26

Event highlights for September 20-26, 2017.

Art Seen

Rust by the Sea

Rust gets a bad rap. When it’s not in your plumbing or car, it can really be quite pretty. The Rust by the Sea exhibit showcases the natural beauty of rust through industrial metal sculpture. From saws to spaceships, Flair Goldman and Keith Millar turn the scrap yard into a futuristic exhibit full of personality.

INFO: Show runs until Oct. 28, with a First Friday party and artists reception at 6 p.m. on Oct. 6. Felix Kulpa Gallery, 107 Elm St., Santa Cruz. Free.

Green Fix

Monterey Bay Birding Festival

The Monterey Bay is a buzzing hub of bird-watching right now—we hear the auklets and bushtits are especially lovely. Don’t know what those are? Well, many people don’t, but they will surely find out if they go to the Monterey Bay Birding Festival—one of the most spectacular birding and wildlife venues in North America. You don’t have to be a bird geek, but you might just become one, after spending the day with knowledgeable field trip leaders, attending workshops, and perhaps even experiencing the thrill of sighting a rarity against the backdrop of the Monterey Bay’s breathtaking bird habitat.

INFO: Saturday Sept. 23. Watsonville Civic Plaza, 275 Main St., Watsonville. montereybaybirding.org. $30 all-day ticket.

Saturday 9/23

Resist Fest

If there is one thing most of Santa Cruz can get behind, it’s an anti-Donald Trump event—the city has already passed a resolution supporting his impeachment, after all. Resist Fest is centered around resistance to the Trump administration, and will actively showcase ways to get involved in peaceful activism. There will also be food, art and music.

INFO: 2-6 p.m. The Museum of Art and History and Abbott Square, 118 Cooper St., Santa Cruz. santacruzindivisible.org. Free.

Sunday 9/24

Oktoberfest Santa Cruz

It’s not October yet, but it’s never really too early for Oktoberfest. Enjoy some brews and brats at Santa Cruz’s longest-running independent Oktoberfest celebration. Admission is free, if you just want to see what all the hubbub is about, and meal tickets are $15.

INFO: 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Messiah Lutheran Church, 801 High St., Santa Cruz. 423-8330.

Free admission.

Friday 9/22

‘9 to 5’

Based on the 1980 Dolly Parton film, this musical (with songs by Parton) tells the story of three women working with a sexist, rude and lecherous boss. They decide to take matters into their own hands, kidnapping him and imprisoning him in his own home. They aim to make the workplace more accommodating for women, but of course there are some bumps along the way.

INFO: Through Oct. 21. Park Hall Community Center, 9400 Mill St., Ben Lomond. mctshows.org. $25.

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

LATEST ARTICLES

Do you think that people are becoming more sophisticated in their spice sensibility?

What gives you the most pleasure in educating people about the intricacies of vanilla?

Why is pure vanilla in danger of going extinct?

Tour Dates

About the Arts Council Santa Cruz County:

EDITOR’S NOTE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

GOOD IDEA

GOOD WORK

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Art Seen

Rust by the Sea

Green Fix

Monterey Bay Birding Festival

Saturday 9/23

Resist Fest

Sunday 9/24

Oktoberfest Santa Cruz

Friday 9/22

‘9 to 5’