Page 794 – Good Times

Film Review: ‘Citizen Jane: The Battle for the City’

A&E
Film

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May 24, 2017

Film Review: ‘Citizen Jane: The Battle for the City’

Guess what? You can fight City Hall. With engagement, activism, and a keen sense of moral outrage, we, the people, can foil the best-laid plans of mice and politicians, however mighty they may think they are. Matt Tyrnauer’s excellent documentary, Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, shows how it’s done, a call to arms that could not be more timely in this chaotic political moment.

The city referred to in the movie’s subtitle is New York City. The story begins in the late 1950s, where the battle lines are drawn between Utopian post-war urban planning and the communities and concerns of real-life people. Leading the charge is Robert Moses, an imperious, celebrated urban planning czar who callously decrees, “You have to move a lot of people out of the way,” (mostly low-income residents) to make room for the so-called “Urban Renewal” he envisions. (Or, as James Baldwin calls it, in a vintage TV clip, “Negro Removal.”)

In the opposing corner is journalist Jane Jacobs, who develops her “theory of opposition” to Moses’ plans. A city resident since 1934, whose freelance stories on urban life earned her a position as Associate Editor at Architectural Forum magazine, Jacobs believes a city should be “a place with scope for all kinds of people.”

She believes that life lived out on the streets, on the stoops of old buildings and the sidewalks in front of them, creates community; even residents without a lot of money can create rich neighborhoods. Whereas Moses’ solution is to tear down all the old buildings, eliminate sidewalk culture, and remove people to soulless highrise towers: i.e.: housing projects. The welfare of the people involved, uprooted from their community life, is a matter of complete indifference to him. “You can’t make an omelet without breaking eggs,” he chuckles, in a TV clip.

Filmmaker Tyrnauer sets up Jacobs vs. Moses as a “battle for the soul of the city.” Jacobs has spent her career writing about street life and urban districts, figuring out how cities function. When cities really work, it’s from the bottom up, she believes, while Moses and his cronies at City Hall view the situation, literally, from the top down. It’s infuriating to see vintage footage of these complacent old white guys in their isolated skyscraper towers making life-disrupting decisions without any idea of how real people actually use space and interact down on the ground.

The results of this ignorance can be catastrophic. Without a lot of activity out in neighborhood sidewalks, “eyes on the street,” as Jacobs calls it, with people stacked up vertically in isolation from each other, crime festers. Drugs and vandalism increase because, without street culture, people are driven to desperation and frustration. When Moses “rammed through” the disastrous 20-year Cross-Bronx Expressway, not only were entire neighborhoods bulldozed, but the borough was cut in half, middle-class whites in flight on one side, while low-income people were shunted into derelict highrises run by slumlords on the other. Images of the area today look like scenes of nuclear devastation.

When Moses proposes The Lower Manhattan Expressway, which would have (among other things) destroyed the fabled SoHo neighborhood and imperiled Washington Square, Jacobs takes action. “As an individual, you can’t do anything,” she tells an interviewer. “But you can organize.” Which she does; building a coalition of opposition from sign-wielding mothers with baby carriages to Eleanor Roosevelt, they defeat Moses’ draconian vision of “progress.”

Tyrnauer posits that Jacobs’ influential book, The Death and Life of Great American Cities, published in 1961, is as defining a moment in 20th Century radical politics as Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique (1962), and Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring (1963). Jacobs consistently fought for the lives and concerns of real people over insular, elitist planning goals and corporate greed. (Why destroy neighborhoods so ruthlessly? a TV interviewer asks her. Because “somebody is making money” on it, she replies.) It’s a fight we’re still engaged in right now.

CITIZEN JANE: BATTLE FOR THE CITY

**** (out of four)

With Jane Jacobs and Robert Moses. A documentary by Matt Tyrnauer. A Sundance Selects release. Not rated. 92 minutes.

The Vision for Bella Vista Italian Kitchen in Aptos

Aaron Carnes

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May 24, 2017

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The Vision for Bella Vista Italian Kitchen in Aptos

The first thing that will strike you about Bella Vista Italian Kitchen is the rustic charm of the building and the interior design. The idea, says owner Jan Johnson, is to give the building the same classic, traditional character that the food has.

Indeed, Bella Vista’s chef Atillio Sienna is an old-school Northern-Italian-style cook who values a slow hand-made process over assembly line prep work. This is Johnson’s third restaurant; the first two were in the Central Valley. She spoke to us about the new Aptos spot and why she decided to get back into the industry.

Why did you open this restaurant in this location?

JAN JOHNSON: The decision I made to open another restaurant was based simply upon my chef returning from Italy and his passion for doing what he does. He’s just incredible in the kitchen. I looked at several locations prior to landing at the Bayview Hotel. I worked for about three months on it to get it open. It has a lot of character there. It just needed a little love. My desire for that building and the work it took to open it was stronger than for something that was ready but doesn’t have the Old-World charm that this building has. I like to think of myself as someone who offers the people upscale dining, but not upscale feeling. I don’t want to come off that you need a certain dress code to come in, because it’s not that way at all. It’s old-school cooking and I like the rustic oldness and the character of the building that complements that. They complement each other, I believe.

What does chef Atillio Sienna bring to the table?

Everything is made with so much passion. It’s really old-style cooking. I don’t think you can find anybody that cooks the way he does. He’s from Northern Italy, born and raised. He’s opened restaurants all over the world, even in Istanbul, Turkey. His style of cooking is kind of a dying art. I know a lot of the restaurants in this area that are Italian are not Italian, they have raviolis and they send out to a company that makes them. That’s usually how people do things. Everything he makes is by hand. I don’t think you’ll find too many places where the chef hand-rolls his ravioli, makes his gnocchi by hand, rolls out his pasta noodles for his lasagna. The food takes a little bit more time to get out because every plate is made to order. He doesn’t pre-boil the noodles. It’s made by hand every day.

Your pizza is Neapolitan style?

Yes. We have imported Italian flours. It’s an artisan crust. I have a wood-fired clay oven. It makes absolutely divine pizzas. We have a pizzaiolo, a pizza maker, that just came in from Italy. In Italy, the pizza makers have a title. It’s an artist making these pizzas. That’s all they do.

8041 Soquel Drive, Aptos. 999-0939.

Sarah’s Vineyard Madonne Blanc

Josie Cowden

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May 24, 2017

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Sarah’s Vineyard’s Madonne Blanc is an impressive blend of several varietals—61 percent Roussanne, 18 percent Grenache Blanc, 15 percent Clairette Blanche, and 6 percent Picpoul Blanc. It’s a deliciously intricate white wine that reflects its southern Rhone heritage—sunny, bright, floral, fruity and complex.

Grower and winemaker Tim Slater says, “It is our effort to emulate the traditional wines of the southern Rhone Valley. It is a marriage of California soils and climate to a classically styled blend of estate-grown Rhone white varietals.”

And if you want to try something a bit different, the Madonne Blanc ($30) fits the bill with its peach, lemon crème and vanilla aromas and flavors. “It will prove a refreshing pairing with summertime Mediterranean fare,” Slater says.

Slater has been crafting his skills since 2001, when he purchased the winery. Before that, he had been a DJ, a musician and a successful “micro-managing” engineer with many patents to his name. Now he has a beautiful tasting room and estate that’s well worth a visit.

Sarah’s Vineyard, 4005 Hecker Pass Hwy., Gilroy, 408-842-4278. sarahsvineyard.com. Open daily from noon to 5 p.m.

Salmon Release

Santa Cruz Fish Company imports Mt. Cook Alpine Salmon (MCAS) from New Zealand—the first farmed salmon to get the best choice in sustainability by Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program. Mt. Cook’s salmon comes from free-flowing, pure glacial water in New Zealand’s Southern Alps—ideal growing conditions to raise freshwater king salmon. You can find it at New Leaf and local restaurants such as Shadowbrook, Palapas, Pono Hawaiian Grill, Crow’s Nest, and Johnny’s Harborside. It’s delicious!

Cultured Meat Is Here, And That Might Be a Good Thing

Andrew Steingrube

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May 24, 2017

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Cultured Meat Is Here, And That Might Be a Good Thing

“We shall escape the absurdity of growing a whole chicken in order to eat the breast or wing, by growing these parts separately under a suitable medium,” predicted famed British politician Winston Churchill in a 1932 essay titled Fifty Years Hence. Although off by a few decades, Churchill’s prophecy may finally be coming to eerie fruition.

The process of growing meat in a lab, while nascent and sure to encounter obstacles and complications, is nonetheless rife with potential to profoundly change the way humans produce and consume protein. Cultured meat (also known as synthetic meat, in vitro meat, or clean meat) has recently become possible because of advances in stem cell research and tissue engineering. The process of growing tissue outside the body in a lab involves self-replicating cells, food, hormones, and other factors that allow original cells to grow and proliferate, eventually creating strips of synthetic animal muscle that are essentially meat.

Although the thought of this may bring a knee-jerk stank-face to many, the potential benefits that cultured meat may provide may be worth getting over any negative knee-jerk reactions. For one, the world population is already dealing with a major protein crisis that only figures to get worse. According to a 2012 United Nations report, the world’s population is expected to surpass nine billion by the year 2050, which means meat production (if our current consumption remains the same) would need to almost double to provide protein to a population that size. Producing this much meat using conventional methods could severely harm or even destroy the planet. The report states that current meat and dairy production account for 19 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, 38 percent of global land use, and 70 percent of global water use. And although cultured meat production would surely leave some sort of carbon footprint as well, the thought is that if it is done correctly and efficiently, it has the potential to be much less harmful to the environment.

Cultured meat could also curb or even completely end what many consider to be the barbaric practices involved in the raising and slaughtering of live animals for food. Would vegetarians eat it? From a health perspective, cultured meat also has the potential to be engineered to be more nutritious, as well as cleaner and more free of disease than conventional meat.

In 2013, the world’s first lab-grown burger was produced from living cow stem cells by scientists, led by professor Mark Post. He is now involved in a cultured meat startup company called Mosa Meat. There is also a San Francisco-based startup called Memphis Meats that recently released its versions of lab-grown fried chicken, beef meatballs, and duck a l’orange. Other startups are working on developing similar products—even Tyson Foods, America’s largest meat company, launched a venture capital fund intended on investing in innovative approaches for protein production. There are also several research institutes advocating for and working on the development of cultured meat, and even government regulatory organizations are getting involved and working to establish guidelines.

Outside the lab, one obstacle is mass public acceptance. Palatability will go a long way toward potentially changing this negative ingrained mindset. Tasters of cultured meat products have generally said that the flavor and texture are similar to that of the real thing, although not exactly the same. Companies would need to work on creating close enough facsimiles that would hold their own in blind taste tests. This may be especially difficult for products like hamburgers and steaks that have significant fat content, which contribute to their natural taste and texture. Producing lab-grown fat would involve a separate and similarly complicated biogenic process.

Another major hurdle is reducing the production cost of cultured meat to bring it up to par with conventional prices. Although this may take a while, history has shown us that when a technology’s time has come, it is only a matter of time before costs come down to a point where it goes mainstream.

North & South Nodes (Dragon Points) Change Signs

Risa D’Angeles

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May 23, 2017

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North & South Nodes (Dragon Points) Change Signs

We have a Gemini new Moon Thursday. The new moon highlights a shift and change in the heavens of two important points in astrology charts—the North and South Nodes (Dragon points). The nodes are neither planets nor signs. They are points in space signifying the Moon’s path crossing the Sun’s path. They are like a binding together of two cosmic principles, Solar and Lunar. The North node faces the North Pole, the South Node faces the South Pole. These points drift gradually through the months.

Every 18 months, the nodes, always opposite each other, change signs. The North Node represents the Sun, and our present/future, what we are developing in our present lifetime. The South Node represents the past, the moon and our past lifetimes. Each node holds our gifts. The North Node holds the gifts to be developed in the present lifetime. The South Node holds the gifts, talents and abilities we developed over lifetimes.

Each lifetime, throughout the unfolding years, life experiences gather together our past talents and gifts. Each talent and gift gathered (remembered) creates a stepping stone. Eventually, the stepping stones (of past talents, gifts, abilities gathered from the South Node) lead us to the North Node. There we meet our dharma, our present future tasks (gifts) to be developed in this lifetime. The South Node provides us with all that we need to develop our new tasks. The Nodes are part of the Path of Evolution we traverse each lifetime. (More on the Nodes next week).

ARIES: The focus of intention and aspiration this week must be on communication (how) and values (what are they?). The two are linked. The more we value ourselves, and others, the more ability we have to think and communicate with kindness and Goodwill. It would be good to consider yourself a World Server. One who always comes from Goodwill which creates compassionate Right Relations. A new identity.

TAURUS: You deeply influence others. Are you aware of this? There’s a magnetic appeal and charm radiating from you that many are attracted to. You’re like a light in the dark, beauty within chaos. When there’s a problem, when the general state of affairs is disrupted, it’s to Taurus that all eyes turn for direction and understanding. New projects need initiating. However, before doing so, you need deep rest. And to follow the circadian rhythms each day.

GEMINI: Well, Gemini, your month has arrived. We hope for you many things—friends and frivolity, cakes and cupcakes, games, parties and intelligent conversation to celebrate (more than one day is best) your new year. Birthdays don’t occur until we contact our protecting angels, presenting them with a coming-year job description of our needs and ending our day with gratitude for our very life. Happy Birthday, Gem (jewel). Solitude and retreat in community is best.

CANCER: Some group or groups are really vital to you now. They provide the social milieu leading to opportunities where hopes, dreams and wishes can be shared. Over time, new people may come into your life or perhaps community projects will emerge, the work of which only you can successfully provide. Whatever the situation, determine your ideals (what are they?), state them clearly, and move toward them with a one-pointed focused mind. Do not ignore friends.

LEO: You may encounter this month various aspects that include contracts, superiors, officials, parents, work responsibilities. While interacting with important people you quietly receive recognition. All these may come into focus one way or another. If parents are alive, be very aware of their needs. If they are no longer in physical form, recite Ohm Mani Padme Hum (Tibetan chant). Do not disregard orders, authority, your credit or a mountain that beckons.

VIRGO: Reality appears to you in ways different than before. It’s as if veils are removed and your vision altered, becoming more refined. This continues (refinement of thought). Feelings of confusion become the potential for growth within a disciplined structure (money). Be aware of the quality of your communication. Virgos talk, talk, and talk some more in order for them to make sense of their thoughts. Try a bit of reticence (quietude) with purpose. While there, have gratitude for everything.

LIBRA: I know you have many secret talents, hidden behind Libra’s smile and charm. Charm is Libra’s main virtue. However, power is there, too, which many don’t realize or understand. For several years, this power shows itself as discipline, responsibility, and a deep seriousness misunderstood as gloom (which you’re not). A restructuring of your self-identity is occurring. Expanding with prosperity. Conserving strength through relaxation heals what hurts.

SCORPIO: Who are your intimates, allies and friends? Do you have competitors (or are you beyond that)? Are you considering a change of environment due to a shift in interests, a call to a new land? What are others requesting of you? Do you have the strength for this or must you gather different friends and acquaintances to help you? Through daily life demands, you find yourself developing emotional poise. You have it all. Stand proud and tall.

SAGITTARIUS: So much work to do, so little time, so many demands, everyone depending on you for things great and small that your diet and health, the necessities of life could fall by the wayside. At times you feel like a servant working yourself to exhaustion without reprieve. Everything must improve – from surroundings to people to daily work methods to nourishment to stability – a central concern. It’s all around you. Let the veils fall.

CAPRICORN: What are the main objects of your affection? What calls forth your interests, creative talents and activities? What type of friend and lover are you and what constitutes freedom for you? You are a leader. Answers to these questions are important for your identity as leader. When you understand, you can then better promote and strengthen the interests of others. This produces within them a love for you. Including the plants you tend. The devas (beings of light who build form) love you.

AQUARIUS: Everything for a while concerns home and family, children, home, foundations, property, parents and elders and all nurturing things that make up your life. The foundations referred to also indicate later achievements in work. Think in practical ways that will improve all environments you find yourself in. Pay attention to what sustains, comforts and soothes. Provide these for yourself and ask this of others, too.

PISCES: You need communication that is kind and giving, contacts that sustain a home and its comforts, environments inviting your knowledge and wisdom to come forth. Should you find yourself with people and places that do not provide these or understand you, quietly turn away. There’s no more proving yourself, no more offering and giving of self to those who cannot see, understand, hear, or receive. You’re called elsewhere.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology May 24—30

Rob Brezsny

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May 23, 2017

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ARIES (March 21-April 19): “Sin” is a puerile concept in my eyes, so I don’t normally use it to discuss grown-up concerns. But if you give me permission to invoke it in a jokey, ironic way, I’ll recommend that you cultivate more surprising, interesting, and original sins. In other words, Aries, it’s high time to get bored with your predictable ways of stirring up a ruckus. Ask God or Life to bring you some really evocative mischief that will show you what you’ve been missing and lead you to your next robust learning experience.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Attention, smart shoppers! Here’s a special spring fling offer! For a limited time only, you can get five cutesy oracles for the price of one! And you don’t have to pay a penny unless they all come true! Check ’em out! Oracle No. 1: Should you wait patiently until all the conditions are absolutely perfect? No! Success comes from loving the mess. Oracle No. 2: Don’t try to stop a sideshow you’re opposed to. Stage a bigger, better show that overwhelms it. Oracle No. 3: Please, master, don’t be a slave to the things you control. Oracle No. 4: Unto your own self be true? Yes! Unto your own hype be true? No! Oracle No. 5: The tortoise will beat the hare as long as the tortoise doesn’t envy or try to emulate the hare.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Generation Kill is an HBO miniseries based on the experiences of a reporter embedded with American Marines fighting in Iraq. Early on, before the troops have been exposed to any serious combat, they’re overflowing with trash talk. A commanding officer scolds them: “Gentlemen, from now on we’re going to have to earn our stories.” Although you are in a much less volatile situation right now, Gemini, my advice to you is the same: In the coming weeks, you’ll have to earn your stories. You can’t afford to talk big unless you’re geared up to act big, too. You shouldn’t make promises and entertain dares and issue challenges unless you’re fully prepared to be a hero. Now here’s my prophecy: I think you will be a hero.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): In your mind’s eye, drift back in time to a turning point in your past that didn’t go the way you’d hoped. But don’t dwell on the disappointment. Instead, change the memory. Visualize yourself then and there, but imagine you’re in possession of all the wisdom you have gathered since then. Next, picture an alternative ending to the old story—a finale in which you manage to pull off a much better result. Bask in this transformed state of mind for five minutes. Repeat the whole exercise at least once a day for the next two weeks. It will generate good medicine that will produce a creative breakthrough no later than mid-June.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): You’re being invited to boost your commitment to life and become a more vivid version of yourself. If you refuse the invitation, it will later return as a challenge. If you avoid that challenge, it will eventually circle back around to you as a demand. So I encourage you to respond now, while it’s still an invitation. To gather the information you’ll need, ask yourself these questions: What types of self-development are you “saving for later”? Are you harboring any mediocre goals or desires that dampen your lust for life? Do you tone down or hold back your ambitions for fear they would hurt or offend people you care about?

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): “Dear Dream Doctor: I dreamed that a crowd of people had decided to break through a locked door using a long, thick wooden plank as a battering ram. The only problem was, I was lying on top of the plank, half-asleep. By the time I realized what was up, the agitated crowd was already at work smashing at the door. Luckily for me, it went well. The door got bashed in and I wasn’t hurt. What does my dream mean? -Nervous Virgo.” Dear Virgo: Here’s my interpretation: It’s time to knock down a barrier, but you’re not convinced you’re ready or can do it all by yourself. Luckily, there are forces in your life that are conspiring to help make sure you do it.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): As long as you keep Syria, South Sudan, and North Korea off your itinerary, traveling would be food for your soul during the next 28 days. It would also be balm for your primal worries and medicine for your outworn dogmas and an antidote for your comfortable illusions. Do you have the time and money necessary to make a pilgrimage to a place you regard as holy? How about a jaunt to a rousing sanctuary? Or an excursion to an exotic refuge that will shock you in friendly, healing ways? I hope that you will at least read a book about the territory that you may one day call your home away from home.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): By now I’m sure you have tuned in to the rumblings in your deep self. Should you be concerned? Maybe a little, but I think the more reasonable attitude is curiosity. Even though the shaking is getting stronger and louder, it’s also becoming more melodic. The power that’s being unleashed will almost certainly turn out to be far more curative than destructive. The light it emits may at first look murky but will eventually bloom like a thousand moons. Maintain your sweet poise. Keep the graceful faith.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Life is inviting you to decode riddles about togetherness that could boost your emotional intelligence and earn you the right to enjoy lyrical new expressions of intimacy. Will you accept the invitation? Are you willing to transcend your habitual responses for the sake of your growth-inducing relationships? Are you interested in developing a greater capacity for collaboration and synergy? Would you be open to making a vulnerable fool of yourself if it helped your important alliances to fulfill their dormant potential? Be brave and empathetic, Sagittarius. Be creative and humble and affectionate.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): “In youth we feel richer for every new illusion,” wrote author Anne Sophie Swetchine. “In maturer years, for every one we lose.” While that may be generally true, I think that even 20-something Capricorns are likely to fall into the latter category in the coming weeks. Whatever your age, I foresee you shouting something akin to “Hallelujah!” or “Thank God!” or “Boomshakalaka flashbang!” as you purge disempowering fantasies that have kept you in bondage and naive beliefs that have led you astray.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): “There are no green thumbs or black thumbs,” wrote horticulturalist Henry Mitchell in a message you were destined to hear at this exact moment. “There are only gardeners and non-gardeners. Gardeners are the ones who get on with the high defiance of nature herself, creating, in the very face of her chaos and tornado, the bower of roses and the pride of irises. It sounds very well to garden a ‘natural way.’ You may see the natural way in any desert, any swamp, any leech-filled laurel hell. Defiance, on the other hand, is what makes gardeners.” Happy Defiance Time to you, Aquarius! In the coming weeks, I hope you will express the most determined and disciplined fertility ever!

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): I believe it may be the right time to tinker with or repair a foundation; to dig down to the bottom of an old resource and consider transforming it at its roots. Why? After all this time, that foundation or resource needs your fresh attention. It could be lacking a nutrient that has gradually disappeared. Maybe it would flourish better if it got the benefit of the wisdom you have gained since it first became useful for you. Only you have the power to discern the real reasons, Pisces—and they may not be immediately apparent. Be tender and patient and candid as you explore.

Homework: How could you change yourself to get more of the love you want? Testify by going to RealAstrology.com and clicking on “Email Rob.

Abbott Square Brings Six Restaurants and Two Bars to Downtown

Christina Waters

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May 23, 2017

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Abbott Square Brings Six Restaurants and Two Bars to Downtown

The imminent opening of Abbott Square also presents a number of new additions to the local dining scene, most operating out of a building at the top of the space. Front & Cooper, a bar designed by mixologist Kate Gerwin, sits opposite a full-on oyster bar (with lobster rolls and seafood panini) called All Aboard. Handcrafted small-batch popsicles from Milk and Wood should please young gourmets. Deeper inside the 7,500-square-foot interior, look for an Asian/Hawaiian fusion shop called Poke It, as well as a wood-fired Neapolitan pizza parlor, Pizzeria la Bufala. Bordering Abbott Square itself, a walk-up window will serve up Cat & Cloud espresso drinks along with pastry temptations from Companion Bakeshop. At Veg on the Edge, organic veggies will fuel West African-inspired dishes at yet another of the ambitiously diverse food shops. And all of this will be accessible from both Front and Cooper street portals and served by the newly reimagined Abbott Square seating area.

In total, that’s six restaurants, two bars, a verdantly planted Secret Garden, and the outdoor plaza itself, which MAH envisions will not only attract patrons of the new restaurant, but locals as well, who simply want to come to sit, study, talk, relax, and chill out for a while. I was happy to know that the historic Octagon building itself, leased by the Market, will house two food shops, one of which will showcase the culinary zest of chef Santos Majano of the Kitchen at Discretion. And the $5 million reinvention starts its preview week on June 2 with a first look at the restaurants, special nibbles and tastes as well as giveaways, parties, music, and a chance to be impressed with what hard work, vision, and savvy fundraising can accomplish.

“The guiding concept,” MAH Director Nina Simon recalls, “came from the community desire for a community plaza. Then people told us that we needed food to tie it all together. Nothing brings people together like a meal.” And so the public market, one that echoed the diverse and active MAH mission itself, was born.

Abbott Square itself, wedged deep into the space between the Octagon and Pacific Avenue retail, has arguably remained underused and loosely defined since the earthquake-forced razing of the original golden era Cooper House. MAH is betting that the spell of past social gatherings—Max Walden’s epic bar, Hilaries, et al.—will infuse magic into this new expansion. Curated by developer John McEnery IV, the official “master tenant” of the Abbott Square Market entity, the choices reflect desires of MAH that there be an emphasis upon diversity of cuisine and cultures represented. Simon notes that national chains or fast food establishments were not considered, and that priority was placed on local food.

“We wanted to create a market whose creativity, diversity, and flexibility would mirror that of the MAH,” says Simon.

The choices are nothing if not diverse, and yet they also reflect the Santa Cruz personality, both in terms of what locals enjoy and also what visitors come to sample. Seafood, sophisticated cocktails and fine coffee and pastry combinations seem destined to attract a regular, year-round patronage. It’s doubtful that anyone will complain that we already have enough coffee shops or cocktail lounges. But there is already a pizza parlor across the street. Perhaps “more is more” will prevail. The West African and Asian menus will doubtless increase the push toward adventurous flavors. A half-dozen concessions filling a space adjoining the museum—already an outdoor “without walls” concept—seems likely to expand the entire MAH operation even further.

With 10,000 square feet of outdoor seating, the open-air Abbott Square is poised to become an al fresco community dining room, where the diverse menus all blend into a single community event.

Food is the way to our hearts, but it’s only part of the larger agenda, which is to open out even further the highly successful and vigorous blend of community events targeting diverse groups. Weekly readings, classes, music, and other programs—all free and open to everyone—will spring up in and around the newly restored Abbott Square.

Stop by for preview week and taste what it’s all about.

A Brief History of the Cooper House

Local News

Mat Weir

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May 23, 2017

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“This was the county jail as recently as the 1980s,” says Nicholas Ibarra, pointing to the red building on the corner of Cooper and Front streets. He’s giving me a tour of the newly renovated—soon to be opened—Abbott Square. The 1,750-square-foot area will be the home to six restaurants, two posh cocktail bars and a Secret Garden open to the public for free music, art shows, or just catching up over drinks. The idea is to make Abbott Square a “cultural hub” for a community that has longed for public spaces. The location couldn’t be more appropriate considering the history of the property, especially for those who remember the once-vibrant Cooper House.

The Cooper brothers originally sold the land to the county in 1866 to be used as the county courthouse. At the time, the local press called it, “one of the neatest, most convenient, best proportioned and at the same time, perhaps the cheapest public building in the state.” The Octagon—which most recently housed the Lulu Carpenter’s coffee house extension—was built in 1882 as the Hall of Records. The property went through some literal trials by fire, starting with the massive fire of 1894 that destroyed many downtown buildings, along with the courthouse. Once rebuilt in 1896, the courthouse would stand only 10 years before the 1906 earthquake struck, rendering the building completely unsafe.

Abbott Square itself was dedicated in 1972, named after Charles “Chuck” and Esther Abbott. The two photographers moved to Santa Cruz in 1963 and played essential roles in establishing many of the city’s famous landmarks. Along with contributing to the design of the once-twisting Pacific Garden Mall, they also single-handedly funded the iconic Mark Abbott Lighthouse on West Cliff Drive in 1986, dedicated to their son after his untimely death in a surfing accident. The same year Abbott Square was dedicated also saw the establishment of the Cooper House.

“The bar was the place to hang out,” says local historian Joan Gilbert Martin. The local resident of more than 50 years has many fond memories of the Cooper House. “There was always music, and always people dancing.”

For anyone living in town during the 1970s and 1980s, the Cooper House was the place to congregate. Located in the heart of downtown, the impressive building, with its decadent windows and ornate staircases, quickly became a hub for people to gather, chat and celebrate life—from national figures like Timothy Leary to local celebrities like Ginger the Rainbow Lady. Unfortunately, after the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake, the Cooper House was deemed unsafe and demolished, much to the chagrin of local residents.

“Since the earthquake, we’ve never had anything like it,” says Museum of Art & History Collections Catalyst Marla Novo, who played a key role in the Abbott Square revival.

The almost 30-year void is exactly something the MAH hopes to fill with the launch of Abbott Square. The MAH knows they could never recreate the Cooper House experience; instead, they want to reboot its cultural essence for the modern era.

“This will be a place where you can walk in, hang out, eat, drink, read, or people watch. Plus you can take part in the free programs [the MAH] will be offering” Novo says. “It was important for us to keep alive the spirit of what the Abbotts wanted as a gathering place.”

Santa Cruz’s Abbott Square to Reopen After Decades of Underuse

Cover Stories

Cat Johnson

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May 23, 2017

2

Santa Cruz’s Abbott Square to Reopen After Decades of Underuse

On a recent trip to New York City, I was struck by the number of parks, benches and public spaces scattered through the city. Between Central Park, Bryant Park, plazas, pop-up sidewalk spaces and neighborhood parks, it seemed that every few blocks there was someplace to sit down and take in the city.

And cities with great public spaces are a lot closer than New York. San Francisco recently became the first and only major city in the U.S. where every resident lives within a 10-minute walk of a park.

Back home in Santa Cruz, it can be hard to find a place to sit and just exist. There’s a lot to love about our downtown, including an abundance of great food, public art, coffee, musicians and world-class people watching, but we’re lacking a central space to socialize and hang out.

Abbott Square promises to change that. The new plaza outside the Museum of Art & History (MAH) may be the best thing to hit Santa Cruz’s public space scene since the old Cooper House building, which was destroyed in the Loma Prieta earthquake.

Architect Mark Primack, a former planning commissioner and city councilmember, says having a reason to go downtown that isn’t solely tied to consumerism is key to creating a thriving city.

“In a successful downtown,” he says, “you want to be there just to be there. You don’t need to justify it with your credit card.”

Abbott Square Secret Garden — Concept design for the “secret garden” area of Abbott Square.

For MAH executive director Nina Simon, who has spearheaded the project, Abbott Square has the potential to bring the larger Santa Cruz community together around creativity and a shared sense of place. She explains that as the county is increasingly divided by geography, economic opportunities, and cultural identity, safe, shared spaces allow us to be more connected and more supportive of each other.

“As downtown Santa Cruz changes and evolves to the next chapter as an economic hub and a social hub,” says Simon, “we need spaces to come together that are not in privatized bubbles. As there are more people using and engaging downtown, those people need and deserve places to connect with each other and to build what Martin Luther King Jr. calls the love of community.”

Abbott Square, which will feature five restaurants, two bars, free performances, seating and a family-friendly Secret Garden, aims to attract residents from around the county to spend time downtown. Jennifer Gallacher, co-owner of Santa Cruz Rehearsal Studios and mother of two boys, explains that she and her family go downtown for activities, but they don’t go there to hang out—they go to parks and public spaces in the surrounding areas instead.

“Even San Lorenzo Park isn’t that close, and it’s hit or miss with the other populations that are there,” she says. “It hasn’t been that welcoming as a family atmosphere.”

Gallacher is excited about Abbott Square’s potential as a place to meet people downtown and “get the best of both worlds.”

“You could do some shopping, go to a festival or whatever great thing is happening downtown,” she says, “then be able to go to Abbott Square to sit down and have your food or have a picnic.”

Her biggest hope for Abbott Square is that it feels safe and fun, and she’s confident the MAH will “hit that nail on the head.”

If Abbott Square goes off as planned, it could also be a huge boon to downtown businesses.

“Anything that draws people downtown and adds to a positive perspective of our downtown is a win for all of our businesses,” says Sonja Brunner, business member coordinator for the Downtown Association.

Brunner is confident that Abbott Square will bolster the Santa Cruz community, saying that the MAH already does great family-oriented events and makes “magical things happen.”

The success of Abbott Square as a public space, according to Primack, who worked with architect Roy Rydell on the original Abbott Square, depends on what Santa Cruz wants, needs, and can support—and the kind of town we have.

“All the time I’ve been in Santa Cruz, we’ve struggled with this notion: Are we a small town? Are we a college town? Are we a tourist town? Trying to balance tourism and local culture is a very difficult thing to do,” he says. “If anyone can pull it off, I think Nina can.”

As Abbott Square opens to the public, Simon hopes it can be a creative community plaza that fulfills the MAH’s mission to “ignite unexpected connections and shared experiences.”

“At the MAH, we believe that art and history help bring people together across differences to strengthen our connections, strengthen our sense of place and pride of place and introduce us to each other and the rich cultural diversity represented in our county,” she says. “I hope we can do that in Abbott Square, and I believe it can be, in a lot of ways, a more powerful representation of our mission than what we can do indoors.”

Surfers Plan to Honor Hawaiian Princes With New Plaque

Local News

Jacob Pierce

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May 23, 2017

1

Surfers Plan to Honor Hawaiian Princes With New Plaque

Surfboard shaper Bob Pearson grins as he talks about the celebration for the three Hawaiian princes who first introduced surfing to the mainland 132 years ago, here in Santa Cruz at the San Lorenzo River mouth.

Pearson, owner of Pearson Arrow Surf Shop, made it his mission to surf a board like the ones those princes did. He constructed 13 Hawaiian-type surfboards, including a couple of 17-foot olos that he carved out of redwood, just like the ones ridden in 1885. He finally had the chance to ride one two years ago, as the Hawaiian royal family and throngs of Santa Cruzans watched from the shore. Pearson, who’s surfed all over the world, found the finless 240-pounder hard to steer.

“Lay a telephone pole in the water, and go surf it. That’s what it was like,” Pearson says.

Kim Stoner, a surf historian and longtime friend of Pearson’s, listens and waits patiently to jump in. Whenever they tell stories together, Pearson and Stoner interrupt each other often, and with childlike exuberance. They’re incessantly making sure the other doesn’t forget something or trying to move the conversation along.

Their current passion is a park plan they’re working on to honor the three princes at a small patch of weeded land in between Seabright Beach and that same river mouth.

“Right now it’s an empty lot that’s getting trashed. It’s all about, ‘how can we make this a little safer, a little more attractive?’” Pearson says.

“And historical,” Stoner adds.

The idea is to create a plaque and a bench or two, possibly some erosion control and maybe a fresh patch of grass. Pearson and Stoner have been working with historian Geoffrey Dunn and longtime surfer Barney Langer on the proposal. They have been in contact with officials from the city and the state parks department, which owns the land.

Stoner says a sense of mana—a Hawaiian word for spirit—and ohana—meaning family—guides everything they’re doing.

Calling a Bluff

It’s a warm Tuesday afternoon, and Greg Cole, a retired architect, and I are standing out on a cliff that stretches out toward the ocean from what could one day be Princes of Surf Park, as he excitedly points in every direction. “At night, the reflections on the water are simply beautiful,” he explains.

This is a great vantage point, he notes, to gaze at UCSC, the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the wharf, Monterey, both lighthouses, and the boats sailing past. Cole is wearing an orange Hawaiian shirt and green cargo shorts. Salsa Picante, his Lhasa Apso/terrier mix, is sniffing around the cliff, having followed us out the door of his East Cliff house and through a hole in the fence that leads down the rough path.

Cole had big plans for the area, and used to talk about his vision with Pearson and Stoner. He would love to pave over the cliff and put some kind of retaining wall around it, he says, to go with the park—a vision for San Lorenzo Point that the Santa Cruz Sentinel covered in February. Cole had other ideas, too, for how to improve the area, some of them ambitious—like building a surf statue to honor the princes, changing traffic direction on part of East Cliff Drive, and adding new staircases to Seabright Beach to slow erosion.

He claims a local engineering firm told him the bulk of the walkway work at San Lorenzo Point could be done for $500,000, and he felt this could be the best opportunity to save the cliff.

But some community members say they weren’t keen on the scope or the process. Eventually, the other guys in the group stopped calling, Cole says. The others don’t want to get into specifics about why they aren’t all still working together. But like any other surf-related dispute, it appears there may have been some “strong personalities” in the discussions, says longtime surfer Pat Farley, who lives down the street and is ambivalent about the whole idea himself.

At one point, Cole recalls that Barney Langer suggested that he try to chair the meetings instead. But Cole admits he didn’t like the idea of someone else managing the details.

“I told him, ‘No, I’m still the chair,’” Cole remembers. “‘So now I’m here all by myself.’”

Looking Out

Farley was never crazy about the idea for a walkway or a statue out on San Lorenzo Point. But he admits that he isn’t sure about the idea of just a plain old park, either.

“It’d be nice to get all the fox tails out of there, rather than having people shoot up in the bushes in there. I don’t know if a park would bring more of them or not,” says Farley, who paddles out in the river mouth religiously, whenever it’s breaking—up to three times a day. That used to happen only a few weeks a year, but this past winter, heavy rains built up a massive sandbar, providing five months of surfing, and 67-year-old Farley is practically looking forward to this extended season being over.

Rumors have swirled, on social media and out in the water, about the park idea, as neighbors and surfers argue about how big and ugly they heard it might be. Pearson says most of the opposition is rooted in misunderstanding and fears of an overbearing statue that even he doesn’t want.

“I don’t care what you do—give everyone $100—someone’s going to be mad at you,” he says. “There are a couple people who are upset because what they heard is misinformation.”

We started looking into the park a month ago, after a discontented tipster emailed GT earlier this spring, insisting we write a story about the plan, which she felt was too ambitious. Sure enough, when I called her back after learning more about the actual proposal for a plaque, she laughed it off in relief.

Pearson, Langer and the rest of group will soon start making the rounds and getting more input for Princes of Surf Park.

“If in fact that is what we’re going to call it,” says Langer, who’s been focused on organizing a 25th anniversary celebration for the West Cliff surf statue for Saturday, May 27. After that, he expects to spend more of his time on the park. “We’ll have more to say after Memorial Day. Seriously, we’re just getting started.”

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