Opinion July 6, 2016

EDITOR’S NOTE

Santa Cruz is known for its history of progressive politics, but Iโ€™d venture to guess that most people who live here now donโ€™t actually know a lot about that history. When exactly did this city become a bastion of liberal ideals? What were the events that shaped its current political landscape?
Kara Guzmanโ€™s cover story this week on the sorry state of Lighthouse Field offers some insight into those questions. If it surprises you to read that, then youโ€™re likely to learn something from her recounting of the fight to save Lighthouse Field in the early 1970s, and how it kick-started a political movement and an entire generation of Santa Cruz politicians. I certainly learned a lot about the cultural significance of Lighthouse Fieldโ€”and I thought I already knew the story.
Guzman unpacks not just the historical context of Lighthouse Field, but also the current political one. Are the problems there going to be solved without some progress made on Santa Cruzโ€™s homeless issues? Her story is very clear on the answer.
In the end, itโ€™s the complex tale of a Santa Cruz landmark most of us donโ€™t think twice about when we pass it. The next time you see it after reading this story, you will.
STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF


LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

River Safetyย Revisited
In response/rebuttal to Ms. Sheridan and Ms. Mioโ€™s letter โ€œRiver Safetyโ€ ย (GT, 6/22): I am a 30-plus year canoeist on western U.S. rivers, lakes, ocean and particularly the San Lorenzo from Glen Arbor to the sea. Having reviewed the more than 200 pages of the Cityโ€™s paddling committee minutes, one may readily conclude your true agenda has little to do with boater safety and everything to do with a narrow waterfowl โ€œprotectionโ€ agenda that excludes any paddling activities whatsoever. ย Your histrionic dispatch is a transparent attempt to prop up the cityโ€™s unconstitutional no boating ordinance (9.66.090 MC) by โ€œfowlโ€ intent.
Additionally obvious:

ย ย ย ย Neither of you have knowledgeable river-paddling experience, as all hazards you raise are known to experienced river-craft paddlers.
ย ย ย ย The pilot program bird survey strategy proposed cannot possibly produce accurate before and after (paddling event) bird counts with only one biologist trying to cover the multi-channeled vegetated San Lorenzo riparian corridor. Kindly tell us how one knows if a bird was missed or already counted!
ย ย ย ย Every paddler I know can swim, right their craft and remount it.
Crafts under 16 ft. do not require registration.

Finally, paddler access to navigable waters is strongly protected by Article X Sect. 4 of the California Constitution, as well as Sect. 3 of the 1850 California Admission Act into the Union. When ducks are granted voting rights and our state Constitution is amended to take away our ย โ€œalways attainableโ€ and ย โ€œforever freeโ€ access to navigable waters, I will hang up my paddle.
Until then, Iโ€™ll continue boating the San Lorenzo, inviting a City citation for violation of 9.66.090 MC and a court test to put this unconstitutional obstructing ordinance to rest.
J. Golder ย 
Active Recreation Coalition | Santa Cruz ย 

Online Comments
Re: Mark Mesiti-Miller
Thank you for this thoughtful and forward-looking article.
The era of auto-centric suburban planning is ending, and for good reason. Weโ€™ve discovered that more and more people, and especially young people, reject the passรฉ โ€œAmerican Dreamโ€ of large front and rear yards, a car for every driver, and utter dependency on driving to accomplish the simplest daily tasks. Some of us have lived in transit-friendly cities and loved it. More and more are lovingโ€”or looking forโ€”a simpler life with smaller homes and yards and, dare I suggest, no need for an automobile at all. Transit-oriented development and pedestrian and bike-friendly communities attract economic investment, and our civic leaders know this. Both the Santa Cruz Business Council and the Chamber of Commerce support the current vision of building a trail while preserving the corridor for future rail transit, and the kind of sustainable development that will come with it.
Some of our major employers, Dominican [Hospital] and Plantronics, support the transportation improvement plan with its investment in the rail with trail vision, possibly taking a cue from Panasonic North America and others that are taking an active role in supporting the renaissance of smart transit and the shift away from highway commuting.
โ€” Barry Scott
Re: Cat & Cloud Coffee
My wife and I chipped in to their kickstarter, and we get a monthly shipment from them. We totally look forward to that package in the mailโ€”amazing beans make amazing coffee. Iโ€™m not a morning person, so they give me something to look forward to.
โ€” Daniel Liston


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GOOD IDEA

SAFE HARBOR
County leaders have embarked on a vision for a mixed-use, tourist-friendly site near the upper Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor. The 8.3-acre vacant parcel at the intersection of Brommer Street and 7th Avenue has harbor access, and the county is seeking proposals for a landmark project with lodging, destination-oriented commercial uses and a large, public open space. The countyรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs economic developers, who are required to sell the property, want to create a project for public good. Bids are due by Aug. 12.


GOOD WORK

STORIED HISTORY
The Capitola Museum, located at 410 Capitola Ave., will celebrate its 50th birthday on Saturday, July 9, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. On the museumรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs website, curator Frank Perry calls it รขโ‚ฌล“a wonderful opportunity to look back at the first half century and acknowledge the many donors, volunteers and others who have helped the Museum preserve our local history.รขโ‚ฌย There will be outdoor displays, activities for kids, souvenirs, and refreshments. Former director Carolyn Swift will share memories of the museum, followed by a cake cutting.


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

รขโ‚ฌล“Lighthouses are not just stone, brick, metal, and glass. Thereรขโ‚ฌโ„ขs a human story at every lighthouse.รขโ‚ฌย

-Elinor Dewire

High Marks for Soquel Vineyards

The Bargetto twins, Peter and Paul, invited me and my husband for lunch on one of the days they were bottling. Bottling is exhausting, so they were all glad to sit down with us and take a break.
The Bargettos, along with their partner Jon Morganโ€”who was scurrying around that day doing a multitude of jobsโ€”are the main team behind the wonderful wines produced at Soquel Vineyards. As Peter poured some of his 2014 Partnersโ€™ Reserve Nelson Vineyard Chardonnay to have with our lunch, it struck me what top-notch wines are coming out of Soquel Vineyardsโ€”and what a ton of work it is to run a winery.
But it can pay off hugely, as is the case with this superior Chardonnay ($28). It got a 91-point rating from the July issue of Wine Enthusiast, and a double gold from the 2016 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.
โ€œThis steep mountain wine dances across the palate with apple and pear,โ€ say the proprietors, โ€œand follows with layers of sweet French oak. Lemongrass flows from the bouquetโ€”classic!โ€ they add. Itโ€™s well worth a trip to Soquel Vineyards to try this Chardonnay and all the other wines they make. They have a welcoming tasting room and a beautiful patio where you can sit and linger.
Soquel Vineyards, 8063 Glen Haven Road, Soquel, 462-9045. soquelvineyards.com. Open for tasting Saturday and Sunday.


La Vieโ€™s Flu Fighter Wellness Shot

I recently had a terrible bout of flu, which totally flattened me. While still feeling miserable, I happened to be at the Walnut Creek farmers market and came across our local La Vie products. One of them was a small bottle with โ€œFlu Fighterโ€ on the label ($3), so I gave it a whirl and downed it. Fresh ginger juice, oregano oil, fresh lemon juice and cayenneโ€”all organicโ€”zapped through me and I experienced a little surge of energy. While not a cure for flu (I actually ended up with antibiotics), the โ€œFlu Fighterโ€ certainly helped, and it tastes great.
For locations of La Vie wellness products, visit drinklavie.com.

Artists Protest Limits on Pacific Avenue

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Standing beside a folding A-frame plastered with experimental art pieces and protest signs on Pacific Avenue, artists Alex Skelton and Joff Jones have spent endless hours downtown suggesting passersby stop to check out their art or maybe even make a donation that will help them afford to stay in Santa Cruz. Their trippy psychedelic art features subjects ranging from the pastoral to pop cultureโ€”nature, a shipwreck, even the cartoon character Waldo.
But in the last year, they say theyโ€™ve had no choice but to shift focus, and their creative sides have taken a back seat to their activism. Skelton and Jones have been arrested three times since July of 2015, each time for refusing to sign a citation issued to them for distributing artwork outside of an exempt zone on Pacific Avenue.
There is no need, they argue, for the 27 blue-marked zones that dictate where artists can and canโ€™t set upโ€”since, they say, it is their โ€œconstitutional rightโ€ to display their artwork in a public space. โ€œRestrictions are meant to keep people safe. There are already laws in place to deal with obnoxious people disturbing the peace and aggressive panhandlers,โ€ says Skelton, beside a picture of a person with a television for a head.
But that isnโ€™t how the First Amendment works, according to City Attorney Tony Condotti. He defends the cityโ€™s policy, saying Skeltonโ€™s rights are not being violated, because itโ€™s within the cityโ€™s right to place restrictions on the time, place and manner in which these First Amendment activities take place.
โ€œThere are numerous places available for people to engage in freedom of expression,โ€ says Condotti. โ€œIt only regulates the locations that they set up, so that they donโ€™t obstruct the sidewalks and clutter up the streets.โ€
Outside experts, too, seem to agree that thereโ€™s nothing unconstitutional about what the cityโ€™s doing, as long as it provides enough space for artists and activists. โ€œSidewalks and streets are public forums for speech. But cities may have time, place, and manner restrictions that serve an important government interest and leave open adequate alternative places for communication,โ€ UC Irvine Dean of Law Erwin Chemerinsky tells GT, adding that he doesnโ€™t know the specifics of the cityโ€™s setup. โ€œGenerally this would be allowed so long as there are adequate places available for the street performers.โ€
The exempt zones are a fairly new concept on Pacific Avenue. They first hit the street in December 2014, in the wake of a controversy over beloved accordionist Frank โ€œThe Great Morganiโ€ Lima, who temporarily retired from playing the mall after being threatened with a $300 ticket. A total of 63 color-coded spots were marked along Pacificโ€”yellow for performing, red for vending, and blue for either. This spring, the Santa Cruz City Council voted unanimously to ban commercial vending entirely, and there are now 30 blue boxes for performing and selling original artwork.
Because Skelton and Jones are artists, they wonโ€™t be affected by the commercial vending banโ€”or at least they wouldnโ€™t be if they wanted to sell their paintings in the designated spots, something they refuse to do.
They were first arrested on Aug. 20, 2015, after refusing to sign a citation for not being in an exempt zone, instead promising to appear in court.
“My mom told me donโ€™t sign anything unless you know what it means,โ€ Skelton says. The Santa Cruz Police Department took them into custody, booking them into jail as per police protocol.
Skelton and Jones have mastered the skill of garnering attention for their causeโ€”dressing up as Founding Fathers after their first arrest, and as television reporters at another protest. During their third arrest on May 1, a friend videotaped when 11 officers showed up, and the video now has more than 32,000 views on Facebook. In the two months since, theyโ€™ve continued to set up outside of exempt spaces, and havenโ€™t had any interaction with law enforcement, aside from โ€œcasual wavesโ€ from cops, they say.
Assistant city manager Scott Collins says the exempt spaces are meant to establish a balance between freedom of expression and commercial and pedestrian activity. He says they were originally established because of complaints from people saying they โ€œdidnโ€™t feel comfortable walking on the sidewalks,โ€ since they were cluttered with people panhandling and fighting over popular locations.
โ€œItโ€™s not like weโ€™re seeking to turn into Los Gatos, where there is no freedom-of-expression activity. A lot of people like coming here for these activities and performers,โ€ says Collins.
Skelton, whoโ€™s 34, has traveled to dozens of cities, ranging from Seattle to Berkeley, to sell his artโ€”or, as he says, โ€œshare my personal ideas with people through art.โ€ He says heโ€™s never had a police officer threaten to cite him outside of Santa Cruz.
It may actually be a misconception, though, that the City of Santa Cruz is somehow more restrictive than other places. In Seattle and Berkeley, for exampleโ€”both considered liberal, artsy communitiesโ€”it is illegal to distribute artwork, or engage in any other vending, in a public space without a permit. Applicants are screened first, and then awarded a permit. In Santa Cruz, there is more flexibility; all one has to do is situate themselves within an exempt zone, within a one-hour time limit.
Collins says says the time limit for each zone provides everyone who wants to display their art or perform a level playing field, and that people canโ€™t stake claims to โ€œhot spots.โ€
Skelton argues the time limit is โ€œridiculous and unnecessarily restrictive,โ€ but concedes in his five-and-a-half years setting up on Pacific Avenue, heโ€™s only ever been asked to give up his space once, and he found another one down the block.
Condotti says that Jones and Skelton persistently trying to get arrested creates a drain on city resources. And, in a way, the activists agree. ย 
โ€œThey [the police department] donโ€™t seem to enjoy using their time this way. Itโ€™s a waste of their time and resources,โ€ says Skelton. โ€œWeโ€™re just showing people pictures and talking to them, and the cityโ€™s making that a crime.โ€

Cutting Back on Crumbs

A few morsels of food left behind in the woods can spark unintended consequences that ripple through the food chain, and kids at a forest school in Little Basin are learning all about it this summer. Ravens and jays are attracted to food waste left over from visitors, and the city-slickinโ€™ birds threaten the marbled murreletโ€”a species of seabird that nests in the forestsโ€”by feeding on the single egg it lays each season.
With the small endangered seabird in mind, the Web of Life Field (WOLF) School has implemented a program to reduce the human food entering the food chain. WOLF School has brought the California State Parks โ€œCrumb Cleanโ€ initiative to the 534-acre Little Basin campgroundsโ€”just in time for both the summer camping rush and the Murrelets nesting season.
โ€œIt allows us to bring kids to a public land, and in return take care of it,โ€ says Heather Butler, WOLF School director.
WOLF School naturalists are promoting proper garbage disposal and airtight container storage for food, and discouraging wild animal feeding.
Before setting up camp, visitors will be required to sign a Crumb Clean Commitment. Educational talks and campfires will also be available to visitors to learn more about the importance of the murrelet to the redwood ecosystem.ย 

Farm Bureau Director on How to Buy Direct

Did you know there are more than 50 farms in the area that you can buy directly from?
Sure, farmers markets are cool, but so is driving up to a farm and buying your produce a few feet from where it was grown. The Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau has been maintaining a map for residents of where they can find these farms. Itโ€™s been updated every year for the past 41 years, and focuses primarily on Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties, with a few farms in Monterey and San Benito counties. Just a few years ago, they even developed an interactive mobile app version. We spoke with Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau Executive Director Jess Brown about this cool local farm guide.
What inspired this map?
JESS BROWN: What has really changed over the past 41 years is the strong interest in the public in dealing directly with the growers. People want to know exactly where their food comes from. Forty-one years ago the farmers market hadnโ€™t really started. This was at the forefront of this public interaction directly with the farmer. Slowly farmers markets started sprouting up. It was a slow process. Now we have several farmers markets within the map.
What kinds of foods are available to get fresh off the farm?
It depends on the season. In the spring thereโ€™s this big surge for berries because people know that those are being picked fresh, and some of the places have โ€œU-Pickโ€ operations where you can go out and actually pick yourself. Of course when you get to the fall, people want to go where the pumpkins are. You move into Christmas and thereโ€™s Christmas trees. Apples are a big deal here. Row crops, meaning vegetables, are a big deal. We have egg farms. You could create a menuโ€”breakfast, lunch and dinnerโ€”from those farms. Probably the one thing that we donโ€™t have a lot of is livestock.
Why have farms always thrived here?
Agriculture has always been a leading industry in this area because the cool coastal climate makes it conducive to grow a lot of the crops, like Brussels sprouts, artichokes, cauliflower, apples. You donโ€™t find a lot of the stone fruits like peachesโ€”you might find those in Santa Clara. So thereโ€™s a wide variety on the map.
724-1356, sccfb.com.

Film Review: โ€˜The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble

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Some people talk about building a wall. (OK, one fool in particular.) The perfect antidote to that mentality is The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and the Silk Road Ensemble. This beguiling and bittersweet documentary chronicles the efforts of the renowned cellist to found a performing group of international musicians from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, whose entire existence is dedicated to both cultural diversity and common humanity.
Filmmaker Morgan Neville won an Oscar for the fabulous 20 Feet From Stardom, giving back-up singersโ€”the unsung heroines of rock โ€™nโ€™ rollโ€”their well-deserved moment in the spotlight. He knows a great music doc needs to feature not only wonderful music, but also dynamic personalities to perform it, and The Music of Strangers is incredibly rich in both.
In 2000, Yo-Yo Ma got the idea to search the world for masters of traditional instruments for a workshop and performance he wanted to stage at the prestigious Tanglewood Music Festival in Massachusetts. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and raised in the U.S., Ma embodies the spirit of internationalism. His idea was to follow the ancient โ€œSilk Roadโ€ trade route, from Venice to China, scouring the world for master musicians.
And what an ensemble he came up with, fascinating in the ways their various instruments, and their playing, as well as their diverse personalities, mesh. Music is the defining element in all their lives, and none has been unscathed by political upheavals.
Kinan Azmeh, a clarinetist from Damascus, brings dozens of wooden flutes to children in Syrian refugee camps. Wu Man survived Maoโ€™s Cultural Revolution in China by her skill on a lute-shaped string instrument called the pipa.
Iranian Kayhan Kalhor is master of another traditional stringed instrument, the kamancheh. When โ€œthe revolutionโ€ (he says, derisively) hit Iran, he had to leave the country, on foot, with only a backpack and his kamancheh. A rootless loner for years, making his living from an instrument no one outside of Iran had ever heard of, he was able to go home in 2009, where he unexpectedly fell in love and married. But, unable to stomach the governmentโ€™s repressive policies, he left again. Now he and his wife carry on their ardent relationship via Skype.
Then, thereโ€™s earthy and raucous Spaniard Cristina Pato, who playsโ€”bagpipes. If, like me, you thought that instrument was exclusive to Scotland, think again. โ€œIf you are from Galicia,โ€ she laughs, โ€œyou have the choice to either play soccer, or play the bagpipes!โ€ And she plays them like no one elseโ€”swaying her hips, stamping her feet, half-singing around the mouthpiece, coaxing out exotic, hypnotic melodies. Fun flashback footage shows her as a young woman with green hair playing the pipes in a rock combo.
After Tanglewood, the players were looking for an excuse to keep up the ensemble, beyond the fact that it was just so much fun playing together. One year later, 9/11 happened. In a world turned instantly xenophobic, Yo-Yo decided it was more important than ever to maintain and promote the cooperative spirit of the ensemble. โ€œMy father doesnโ€™t think of himself as a cellist,โ€ says his son, Nicholas. โ€œHe wants to change the world; he just happens to have a cello in his hand.โ€ Six albums and several globe-trotting performances later, the Silk Road Ensemble continues.
Insightful commentary is provided by the musicians themselves, other musical observers, and various composers who have written for the ensemble. โ€œWe donโ€™t all necessarily speak perfect English,โ€ says Chinese composer Tan Dun. โ€œBut we all speak perfect music.โ€ And the musical performances are mostly thrilling, whether on a concert stage, or in an open courtyard in Venice, or around a dinner table, where the musicians start exuberantly chiming their wine glasses.
These folks understand that music canโ€™t โ€œstop a bullet,โ€ or โ€œfeed the starving.โ€ And some critics complain they are โ€œdilutingโ€ cultural music traditions by blending them in the ensemble. But the film demonstrates how the ensemble helps its members keep their individual musical identities alive, while challenging the fear of the โ€œotherโ€ so prevalent in todayโ€™s world.


THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS: YO-YO MA AND THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE
(***1/2) out of four
With Yo-Yo Ma. Directed by Morgan Neville. An Orchard release. Rated PG-13. 96 minutes.

Crab, Scarab, Tortoise, Cherubim

We are in the month and sign of Cancer. Looking around our world, we might see images that pertain to Cancer; crab, scarab, tortoise, gates, waters, mother with child, angels (the Cherubim who protect mothers and children). There are always three levels to everything in our world: personality, Soul and Spirit.
On the personality-building level, Cancer is about mother, birth, family, nurturing and nourishment of all life. On the Soul level, Cancer is about developing the mind (lower and higher) and intelligently working in harmony and Right Relations with all Earthโ€™s kingdoms (mineral, plant, animal, human). These are the foundations upon which the new culture and civilization, the Aquarian new world, is created.
Because Cancer is the sign of humanity (the masses, ruled by the moon) and the sign where Spirit (new ideas) enters matter (the โ€œgate inโ€), during the month of Cancer we ponder upon world events as they affect the people of the Earth. We also prepare for the coming seasons, autumn and winter.
With Sun, Moon Mercury and Venus in Cancer, we find we are imitating the crab. Weโ€™re in and out of water. ย We retreat into the salty brine, but cannot survive there. Weโ€™re deeply sensitive, feeling intensely the worldโ€™s psychic currents. Unconsciously, we seek our motherโ€™s womb (collective waters of life). Yet greater is the urge to cultivate our personal, individual self. We hear ourselves saying repeatedly, โ€œI want, I need,โ€ feeling hunger on many levels. We swim, glide and dance, part of the Family of Man (Sanskrit for the โ€œthinking onesโ€). The moon rules us (at first). Then Neptune, with his trident.


ARIES: The sign Cancer focuses Aries on home and familyโ€”past, present and future. You are to build a lighted house wherever you live. A spiritually oriented house filled with light and love, creating a new environment. Assume kitchen duties, nurturing others through food. Aries works fast in the kitchen or interest and energy are lost. Donโ€™t give up. Make contact with family far away. Build, tend to or fix a gate.
TAURUS: You have family memories, especially of mother. Memories help us better understand and appreciate our origins. Although still influenced by childhood patterns (we all are), a new sense of self-liberation is also occurring. You may find yourself in a car driving somewhere far away, seeking a new natural and balanced way of life. Keep driving.
GEMINI: Are you pondering upon finances? New ideas appear on how to use resources wisely and for a future goal. Create an imagination journal. Write down that each day you receive $1,000. Thatโ€™s $31,000 per month. Each day you must spend $500. What would you spend it on? Itโ€™s always good, with money, to tithe first. With so much suffering in the world today, where would you tithe?
CANCER: Cancer always seeks to expand self-identity. What would expand your self-awareness, self-identity and self-esteem? Do you need new clothes, shoes, a new style? Does daily life need plans reorganized, initiating a new phase of life? When environments are ordered a new fertile field appears, and Spirit enters matter more easily. During this month a gate opens. Plant happy flowers. Happy Birthday.
LEO: You may have been in a sort of solitude. Gradually you realize your need for closer contacts, communication and love in your life. A seed is being planted concerning goodwill toward others, something thatโ€™s in your heart but not always in your actions. Sometimes youโ€™re shy. Allow yourself a little phase of moodiness and non-discipline. Then be willing to activate love/wisdom.
VIRGO: Have new ideas been impressing your mind with new possibilities? Remember to balance your mindโ€™s activity with physical activity. After daily walks looking at gardens, consider a change of appearanceโ€”clothes, hair, shoes. Inner and outer apparel. Find the finest, best-made and most comfortable. This is a part of your new, well-dressed creative self.
LIBRA: Thereโ€™s so much to do behind the scenes. Each day, accomplish one task at a time. Eventually everything will be completed, and you will feel the pride of accomplishment. Youโ€™re so busy that travel may be an unavailable luxury. However, should you take to the road, share informationโ€”take photos, write about what you see, experience, discover, like, donโ€™t like. Include parks, people, architecture and foods you eat. Everyoneโ€™s interested. Youโ€™re interesting.
SCORPIO: Deep within, where no one really sees or understands, you have a perennial question. You wonder where and what your purpose and place are. As you observe others, they seem to know something you donโ€™t (not true). Is there someone in your life who listens deeply? Now is the time to speak with them. Itโ€™s a good time to take short trips, absorbing new ideas, towns, people and cities. Instead of you finding the answer, what you are seeking finds you.
SAGITTARIUS: Careful with spending, as you could assume a large debt or overspend very easily. On the other hand, you may finally begin to be more practical concerning how to use money and resources. When you do so, a lifetime-after-lifetime lesson will have been learned. Know at first we stumble and simply overdo things. Then we finally learn how to balance and harmonize all that we have. Youโ€™re in between.
CAPRICORN: Do you feel a desire to travel, to expand, to study and learn new things? Your lifeโ€™s focus is on those close to you. They are your responsibility. And Capricorns are the zodiacโ€™s responsible ones. Itโ€™s most important now to offer greater nurturance, kindness and care through practical discipline. Discipline can be given calmly, words spoken over and over. Discipline nurtures. Sometimes others donโ€™t know how to nurture. Well, then, youโ€™re to teach them. One more task toward freedom.
AQUARIUS: Your life is most likely very unusual, with a unique sort of reality and different ways of doing things. Youโ€™ve taken the road less traveled, which is courageous to some, but for you, your only choice. While freedom is your priority, friendships offer significant meaning to your life. Theyโ€™re your resource, and when giving to them, youโ€™re nurtured. Itโ€™s good to know and recognize this. Goodness sheds your Aquarian values all over everyone.
PISCES: Ask yourself what plans make the most sense concerning your future care and safety. You will experience new revelations concerning your self -identity and as new needs arise, new realizations concerning how you live will become relevant. In the meantime, you need a daily environment that includes balance and beauty. Create a home journal, and place in it photos of all that you love. Include a garden surrounding a warm natural pool. Surround all your hopes, wishes and dreams with Goodwill.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology July 6โ€”12

 
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Events in the coming week may trick your mind and tweak your heart. They might mess with your messiah complex and wreak havoc on your habits. But I bet they will also energize your muses and add melodic magic to your mysteries. They will slow you down in such a way as to speed up your evolution, and spin you in circles with such lyrical grace that you may become delightfully clear-headed. Will you howl and moan? Probably, but more likely out of poignant joy, not from angst and anguish. Might you be knocked off course? Perhaps, but by a good influence, not a bad one.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In the book A Survival Guide to the Stress of Organizational Change, the authors tell you how to raise your stress levels. Assume that others are responsible for lowering your stress levels, they say. Resolve not to change anything about yourself. Hold on to everything in your life thatโ€™s expendable. Fear the future. Get embroiled in trivial battles. Try to win new games as you play by old rules. Luckily, the authors also offer suggestions on how to reduce your stress. Get good sleep, they advise. Exercise regularly. Donโ€™t drink too much caffeine. Feel lots of gratitude. Clearly define a few strong personal goals, and let go of lesser wishes. Practice forgiveness and optimism. Talk to yourself with kindness. Got all that, Taurus? Itโ€™s an excellent place to start as you formulate your strategy for the second half of 2016.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Normally Iโ€™m skeptical about miraculous elixirs and sudden cures and stupendous breakthroughs. I avoid fantasizing about a โ€œsilver bulletโ€ that can simply and rapidly repair an entrenched problem. But Iโ€™m setting aside my caution as I evaluate your prospects for the coming months. While I donโ€™t believe that a sweeping transformation is guaranteed, I suspect itโ€™s far more likely than usual. I suggest you open your mind to it.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): As I gaze into my crystal ball and invoke a vision of your near future, I find you communing with elemental energies that are almost beyond your power to control. But Iโ€™m not worried, because I also see that the spirit of fun is keeping you safe and protected. Your playful strength is fully unfurled, ensuring that love always trumps chaos. This is a dream come true: You have a joyous confidence as you explore and experiment with the Great Unknown, trusting in your fluidic intuition to guide you.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): โ€œYou can only go halfway into the darkest forest,โ€ says a Chinese proverb. โ€œThen you are coming out the other side.โ€ You will soon reach that midpoint, Leo. You may not recognize how far you have already come, so itโ€™s a good thing Iโ€™m here to give you a heads-up. Keep the faith! Now hereโ€™s another clue: As you have wandered through the dark forest, youโ€™ve been learning practical lessons that will come in handy during the phase of your journey that will begin after your birthday.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): My devoted contingent of private detectives, intelligence agents, and psychic sleuths is constantly wandering the globe gathering data for me to use in creating your horoscopes. In recent days, they have reported that many of you Virgos are seeking expansive visions and mulling long-term decisions. Your tribe seems unusually relaxed about the future, and is eager to be emancipated from shrunken possibilities. Crucial in this wonderful development has been an inclination to stop obsessing on small details and avoid being distracted by transitory concerns. Hallelujah! Keep up the good work. Think big! Bigger! Biggest!
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): After years of painstaking research, the psychic surgeons at the Beauty and Truth Lab have finally perfected the art and science of Zodiac Makeovers. Using a patented technique known as Mythic Gene Engineering, they are able to transplant the planets of your horoscope into different signs and astrological houses from the ones you were born with. Letโ€™s say your natal Jupiter suffers from an uncongenial aspect with your Moon. The psychic surgeons cut and splice according to your specifications, enabling you to be recoded with the destiny you desire. Unfortunately, the cost of this pioneering technology is still prohibitive for most people. But hereโ€™s the good news, Libra: In the coming months, you will have an unprecedented power to reconfigure your lifeโ€™s path using other, less expensive, purely natural means.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In high school I was a good athlete with a promising future as a baseball player. But my aspirations were aborted in sophomore year when the coach banished me from the team. My haircut and wardrobe were too weird, he said. I may have been a skillful shortstop, but my edgy politics made him nervous and mad. At the time I was devastated by his expulsion. Playing baseball was my passion. But in retrospect I was grateful. The coach effectively ended my career as a jock, steering me toward my true callings: poetry and music and astrology. I invite you to identify a comparable twist in your own destiny, Scorpio. What unexpected blessings came your way through a seeming adversary? The time is ripe to lift those blessings to the next level.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): Do you remember that turning point when you came to a fork in the road of your destiny at a moment when your personal power wasnโ€™t strong? And do you recall how you couldnโ€™t muster the potency to make the most courageous choice, but instead headed in the direction that seemed easier? Well, hereโ€™s some intriguing news: Your journey has delivered you, via a convoluted route, to a place not too far from that original fork in the road. Itโ€™s possible you could return there and revisit the optionsโ€”which are now more mature and meaningfulโ€”with greater authority. Trust your exuberance.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): I love writing horoscopes for you. Your interest in my insights spurs my creativity and makes me smarter. As I search for the inspiration you need next, I have to continually reinvent my approach to finding the truth. The theories I had about your destiny last month may not be applicable this month. My devotion to following your ever-shifting story keeps me enjoyably off-balance, propelling me free of habit and predictability. Iโ€™m grateful for your influence on me! Now I suggest that you compose a few thank-you notes similar to the one Iโ€™ve written here. Address them to the people in your life who move you and feed you and transform you the best.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): After an Illinois manโ€™s wife whacked him in the neck with a hatchet, he didnโ€™t hold a grudge. Just the opposite. Speaking from a hospital room while recovering from his life-threatening wound, Thomas Deas testified that he still loved his attacker, and hoped they could reconcile. Is this admirable or pathetic? Iโ€™ll go with pathetic. Forgiving oneโ€™s allies and loved ones for their mistakes is wise, but allowing and enabling their maliciousness and abuse should be taboo. Keep that standard in mind during the coming weeks, Aquarius. People close to you may engage in behavior that lacks full integrity. Be compassionate but tough-minded in your response.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): Can water run uphill? Not usually. But thereโ€™s an eccentric magic circulating in your vicinity, and it could generate phenomena that are comparable to water running uphill. I wouldnโ€™t be surprised, either, to see the equivalent of stars coming out in the daytime. Or a mountain moving out of your way. Or the trees whispering an oracle exactly when you need it. Be alert for anomalous blessings, Pisces. They may be so different from what you think is possible that they could be hard to recognize.


Homework: Imagine that thanks to scientific breakthroughs and good luck, youโ€™re alive in 2096. Whatโ€™s your life like? freewillastrology.com.
 

State Passes New Gun Bills, Feds Donโ€™t

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โ€œYou see a lot of the same ideas introduced in Sacramento and Washington,โ€ says Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), speaking on parallel gun-control efforts ongoing in California and Congressโ€”efforts that are in the spotlight following the Orlando mass-shooting on June 12.
The big difference? In California, the state legislature actually passes a pretty regular raft of gun-control bills that have teeth to them, and Gov. Jerry Brown even signs some of them, as he did on July 1. The state has some of the toughest gun laws in the country and has enacted limits on, for example, the magazine capacities of assault-style weapons that include the AR-15, a version of which was used in the Orlando massacre.
California has extensive background-check procedures, while Congress wonโ€™t move to close a loophole in gun shows that undermines the background check.
Congressional Democrats took to the floor last week, conducting a sit-in protest of legislative inaction on gun control, led by Georgia Congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. Rep. Sam Farr (D-Carmel) took part in the protest along with more than 150 other House Democrats, plus a few colleagues from the Senate, who even brought their comrades some โ€œmunchiesโ€ to snack on, Farr tells GT. Farr, who represents Santa Cruz, says he was at the 25-hour protest until about 4 a.m. before deciding he should try to get some sleep.
While on the floor, Farr spoke proudly about Californiaโ€™s laws banning the sale of assault weapons and limiting the number of ammunition rounds in a magazineโ€”and called on other states to do the same. Shortly after, Gov. Brown signed new gun bills, further restricting magazine rounds and requiring background checks to buy ammunition statewide.
California may have tough gun laws, but its border with other states is even more porous than its border with Mexico, which makes it difficult to cut off the flow of illegal weapons. โ€œIn Sacramento, they can actually move forward on these bills,โ€ says Huffman, โ€œbut the problem is they donโ€™t have much effect if thereโ€™s no federal law.โ€
And where Congress has notoriously refused to fund a study on the negative health impacts of gun violence on society (the Center for Disease Control hasnโ€™t done a comprehensive study in two decades), California has drafted a state bill that would do just that.
โ€œWeโ€™re working from the same playbook,โ€ says Huffman of gun-control efforts in California and Congress. โ€œWeโ€™d like to see certain military-style assault weapons banned, high-capacity ammunition systems banned. Weโ€™d like to see far better safeguards and background checks. Weโ€™d like to see safety systems, locking systems, biometricsโ€”thatโ€™s why you see similar ideas being introduced in the two bodies. The difference is, in one place they go there to die.โ€
After a heartrending filibuster led by Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, designed to push Senate Republicans to a vote on gun control, Huffman last week co-signed a bill that aims to patch a hole in the nationโ€™s effort to protect itself from attacks committed under the flag of terror, if not ISIS itself.
Under the bill, no one on a terrorist-watch list will be able to buy a gun without the FBI getting a notification. The Senate shot down a similar bill, along with three others, and refused to vote on the House versionโ€”part of what prompted the sit-in, which was broadcast on Facebook and Periscope.
Huffman defends the bill, often called โ€œNo Fly, No Buyโ€ as being limited, and necessary. โ€œWeโ€™re only talking about a notification process,โ€ he says, โ€œand I donโ€™t think thatโ€™s a huge intrusion into due process or privacy. I donโ€™t have a problem [with notification] for someone who is investigated for terrorist ties if they go out and buy an AR-15.โ€
Of course, perfectly innocent people have, at times, ended up on those lists when their only transgression is having the same name as a bad guy. And although Huffman concedes itโ€™s often easier to get on a list than to get off one, there is an appeal process.
It seems that every time thereโ€™s a mass shooting, the battle over gun control takes a predictable arc that sees the issue become bogged down in semantic details, like proper ways to describe the weapon. Even as a gun owner who supports the Second Amendment, Huffman says he has โ€œfallen into that trapโ€ and been attacked by gundamentalists for skewing the difference, for example, between a clip and a magazine.
Northern California gun owner Keith Rhinehart says he knows how, in the aftermath of mass-casualty shootings, the fixation with nomenclature tends to obscure realities. โ€œMost NRA members, like myself, are pretty sane, normal people who donโ€™t believe you should be able to go to a gun show, buy a gun and walk out,โ€ says Rhinehart, who finished third in the District 1 Sonoma County Supervisor race.
Rhinehart supports closing the gun-show loophole and in โ€œcooling offโ€ periods for someone who wants to buy a weapon. โ€œI honestly canโ€™t figure out why they are so militant about no restrictions on firearms, or on waiting lists, or on people who are on the terror lists,โ€ he says. โ€œMost of the NRA members, like myself, do believe that these restrictions should be in place. The image problem of the NRA has more to do with the leadership than the membership.โ€
Robert Edmonds is a Sonoma County gun owner and an anarchistโ€”a philosophy that is, for him, creative, community-based and noncoercive.
Edmonds owns several guns and was raised in a house where his father once threw away a toy revolver because he pointed it at someone. โ€œThat was imprinted in me,โ€ says Edmonds. โ€œYou never point a gun at anyone, even a toy gun.โ€
Edmonds says he hasnโ€™t fired any of his weapons in over a year and a half, and that was just plinking at pie tins. He has also given some thought to the obsession over proper nomenclature.
โ€œIf you have a steadfast position, you develop your body of research and wind up with ultra-refined arguments that support your case,โ€ he says. โ€œThat becomes a justification to throw out all reasonable arguments if someone is inaccurate.โ€
Huffman and Farr both stress that no one in Congress wants to discuss taking draconian steps, like repealing the Second Amendment.
โ€œWeโ€™re willing to go down with this ship,โ€ Farr says. โ€œBut in our case, we feel like weโ€™re going to launch this ship into a better place with reasonable gun legislation. And all weโ€™re doing is setting limits. Weโ€™re not taking peopleโ€™s guns away. Weโ€™re not wiping out. Weโ€™re not repealing. We have a lot of gun owners who are tweeting us who support us.โ€


Additional reporting contributed by Jacob Pierce.

Preview: Folk Family Revival to Play Don Quixote

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Thereโ€™s a country and Americana music scene in Texas thatโ€™s big enough to keep artists touring year-round without ever leaving the state. Folk Family Revival grew out of this rich musical environment, and its members embrace the Texas sound wholeheartedly. But they also add a heaping dose of rock โ€™nโ€™ rollโ€”which has the country music purists somewhat skeptical.
โ€œEvery festival you go to thatโ€™s not in Austin has these same Texas country names,โ€ says frontman Mason Lankford. โ€œIf you donโ€™t sound like that, people say, โ€˜Oh, these guys are different. They sound like something youโ€™d hear in California.โ€™ Then you go to California and people say, โ€˜Oh, thatโ€™s got a Texas flavor to it.โ€™โ€
The members of Folk Family Revivalโ€”Mason, his brothers Barrett and Lincoln, and their family friend Caleb Paceโ€”arenโ€™t too concerned with what people call their country/roots/psychedelic/folk/rock music. They tour the West Coast regularly and understand that they arenโ€™t an easy fit for the Texas country scene. One listen to the band, however, and you can hear the rough-around-the-edges perspective that makes the Texas sound a favorite of roots fans.
The latest Folk Family Revival album, Water Walker, showcases its different dimensions. It kicks off with โ€œIf It Donโ€™t Kill You,โ€ a rocking tune about surviving love, which is followed by โ€œSunshine,โ€ a sweet song full of vulnerability and self-reflection. Then comes โ€œI Drew a Line,โ€ which circles back to outlaw-style country and has the memorable line, โ€œMy mama used to tell me, โ€˜Donโ€™t do drugs unless you do โ€™em with your friends.โ€™โ€
Growing up, the Lankford brothers picked up music early. Their dad played bass and always had a few instruments lying around. By the time Mason was 12, he was in his first group and performing in local coffee shops. The music the brothers played in their younger years was โ€œMore what people wanted to hear than what [we] wanted to play,โ€ says Lankford, but the experience served as a foundation to grow from.
โ€œIt wasnโ€™t really what we enjoyed, but it was what we did for where we were at the time,โ€ says Lankford. โ€œNow, weโ€™ve got a record collection that fills up a room pretty good. Itโ€™s full of the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, the Doors, the Band. Thatโ€™s what we shape our sound like. We use a lot of vintage gear and old techniques.โ€
At the heart of Folk Family Revival is familyโ€”and the definition goes beyond blood relations for these guys. The band is rooted in a growing community of people that includes other musicians, fans, artists, and friends. Mom and pop Lankfordโ€™s house is a bustling place where people come to play music, sleep on the couch, hang out with new and old friends, eat, and connect. The house is homebase for the ever-expanding family.
โ€œSometimes people come up and say, โ€˜I was going through a hard time and you really helped me with that song,โ€™โ€ says Lankford. โ€œWeโ€™ll say, โ€˜Hey, you need to give me your number and come to the house. Youโ€™re one of the dudes that we want to hang out with.โ€ He adds, โ€œWe bring in people that strengthen the family.โ€
This spirit of openness and collaboration extends to the music, as well. The members make a point of trying new ideas and changing songs up to keep things fresh. Itโ€™s an improvisational approach that doesnโ€™t always work out, but they donโ€™t dwell on that.
โ€œThere are plenty of messups,โ€ says Lankford, โ€œBut you just laugh it off and find a way to play with the crowd. Thereโ€™s no point in getting hung up on it, you just make sure the next song goes off without a hitch.โ€
In the end, the organic approach to making music aligns nicely with with the bandโ€™s approach to friendship, life and family.
โ€œWeโ€™ve learned a lot about love and acceptance and those kind of things,โ€ says Lankford. โ€œIn life, hopefully everybodyโ€™s searching for some kind of betterment and trying to make themselves a better person. The family has helped so much with that.โ€


INFO: 7:30 p.m., Monday, July 11. Don Quixoteโ€™s, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. 335-2800. $10.

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For Folk Family Revival, Texas-inspired music is all about family and community
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