Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Items above might be helpful to take to a protest. Bandanas soaked in lemon juice and kept in a plastic bag can be used as an emergency gas mask according to "A16 Medical Team's Recommended Supplies for Protestors." A leaf blower was used in Portland to diffuse and redirect pepper spray and gas. Editor
Be Prepared!
By BRUCE VAN ALLEN
Our times call for concerted political action on multiple fronts: we can’t ignore the coming elections, where locally and nationally the stakes are so high; we need to continue pressuring entrenched power in the streets and through other outside-the-channels ways; and we need to steadily escalate our resistance and non-cooperation with repressive institutions. What better time than now to bring out my old inner boy scout to remind us to "be prepared." Below are
some ways to be prepared I’ve run across recently:
1. Bill McKibben in the New Yorker (June 3, 2020):
Should the President make himself a full-on tyrant, the nearly two hundred “methods of nonviolent action” catalogued by Gene Sharp provide a playbook for resistance. Sharp’s research is avidly studied by democracy, human rights, and climate change movements around the world. Much of the methods he discusses were developed by people living under totalitarian regimes. Under perhaps different names or styles, they are also familiar to people everywhere living under the burdens of racism, patriarchy, homo/transphobia, workplace and anti-union restrictions, and exploitation of immigrants. The unifying aspect is that these are methods can be employed by ordinary people who are coping with repressive power they can’t overcome directly. McKibben’s article suggests a context for Trump’s anti-democratic maneuvers. I would add that non-cooperation and resistance methods will be increasingly useful and relevant as we continue our long march to transform the cultural, political, and economic institutions that now afflict our society.
2. Austin Choi-Fitzpatrick in The Conversation (July 28, 2020):
We’re in an “arms race” between surveillance technology and people’s creativity in defeating it. Today, we’re learning about ways of hiding and disguising from drone cameras, infra-red detectors, and artificial intelligence technologies such as facial recognition and gait-tracking. And new technology is constantly evolving; soon it will be something else. So this article from July, 2020, will be dated after a while, but this is the latest for now.
When preparing for actions “outside the channels”, remember your phone. It’s common now to leave your main phone at home and take along a “burner” phone that you can afford to lose and, importantly, that doesn’t have all of your personal info on it in case you get arrested or someone grabs or smashes your phone. Some groups of friends will make plans jointly to address this before “heading downtown.” This article, by Micah Lee, has practical hints on how to do this.
"How cops can secretly track your phone" - July 31, 2020 This article by Kim Zetter is a guide to stingray surveillance technology, which may have been deployed at recent protests. Stingray is an electronic surveillance tool that acts as a cell phone tower that forces nearby mobile devices to connect to it, rather than a legitimate cell tower. It can thereby gather data from everyone in an area. This article also goes deeply into why you might be concerned about your phone being tracked.The Intercept’s security director shows how to safeguard a secondary Android phone for an anti-police protest.
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Jorge Benitez (above, far right) speaking before a protest outside the Santa Cruz Police Department in June.
Photos by SARAH RINGLER
The Injustice is wide spread
By JORGE BENITEZ
The protests across the nation are a beautiful demonstration of "power to the people" and are beyond necessary. Santa Cruz County can benefit from these movements as much as any city, yet it feels as if local demonstrations have failed to address the inequalities in this county. At one of the first demonstrations, a "multi-generational" Santa Cruz local admitting to never experiencing prejudice was given the privilege of speaking over county's Hispanic citizens who endure systemic injustice daily. These local protests must ensure the demands of all those in need of legislative reform are acknowledged.
The Hispanic community must be included in the push for social equality. Our local field workers are exposed to carcinogenic fumigants daily, our people disproportionately affected by the pandemic, and students are in segregated school systems, prone to gang-violence and racial profiling. These are issues we must begin to address. Earlier this year, officials in Watsonville proposed defunding recreational youth programs. Such a proposal should be a reason for outcry. These programs are essential to our community's health, acting as outlets for marginalized youth to escape psychological and physical harm from violent neighborhoods or households.
It is evident that everyone plays a role in systemic injustice; the only difference is whether you benefit from it or are suffocated; no one is neutral. There is preaching for reform at the national level, and now it must be accompanied by resolving issues locally. Those thousands who protested at Lighthouse Field and Capitola must take this momentum and apply it to local progress. Vote for legislation that further funds educational systems in areas with high minority populations and legislation that'll strengthen farmworker rights and unions. The funding of national civil rights organizations such as Black Lives Matter is crucial, but don't turn a blind eye to the communities in this county, also in dire need of support and worthy of it.
Real change will only arise with clear understanding and respect for each other's communities, experiences, and concerns. It'd be naive to think that those facing injustices are incapable of finding solutions to systemic racism and inequality. It's equally ignorant to believe someone sheltered from prejudice will produce adequate answers. If local protesters are genuinely championing for all people's civil rights, then they will listen and take action alongside us to solve local issues so that our future provides equal opportunity and justice.
I grew in Watsonville for most of my life and could have been found running through the slough with my dog or sister. Since graduating from Cabrillo College, I have been a visiting scholar at Stanford medical school, and I will be finishing my work for a Bachelor's in Global Disease Biology at UC Davis. I aspire to return to the community of Watsonville as a practicing research physician and resolve health disparities faced by marginalized communities.
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for the article on the history of the Syringe Exchange Project.
I would like to correct a few things about the early days. Richard Smith was a staff person at the Santa Cruz AIDS Project when he and a group of volunteers started exchanging syringes. I was the executive director of SCAP at the time and although we could not officially support the syringe exchange, we did organize a fundraiser in my backyard for the program. Handmade invitations went out to all local elected leaders, criminal justice and public officials. They said something like: Here’s your chance to be part of the underground. Mardi Wormhoudt and a number of other electeds did attend. This event was designed to educate the powers that be while they were together, they could see just how much support there was for this project.
We were also able to get the city police (and I think the county sheriffs) to honor an official card that volunteers carried so they would not be arrested for having syringes.
The syringe exchange was a one-for-one needle.
The Syringe Exchange Project and SCAP worked alongside each other to provide harm reduction support (a new concept at the time) for folks using IV drugs with Richard as the primary organizer/networker.
I don’t expect you to change your article- I just wanted you to know the correct history.
Thanks so much, Jo Kenny
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County Housing Report
Here is the Housing Inventory Snapshot of our county from Raeid Farhat Real Estate Inc. as on July 28, 2020.
Single Family homes: The average list price: $1,151,472 and average sold price: $1,034,607. Average sold price is up 13% from May 28 report.
Luxury Family homes: Average list price: $3,588,072 and average sold price: $2,370,607. Average sold price is up 8% from May 28 report.
Condo/Townhomes: Average list price: $599,190 and average sold price: $612,759. Average sold price is up 8% from May 28 report.
Luxury Condo/Townhome: Average list price: $1,123,164, average sold price: $1,167,000. Average sold price is up 3% from May 28 report.
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"No Place to Grow"
Watsonville Film Festival is presenting another powerful, local film, Michelle Aguilar's "No Place to Grow" this week. Don't miss this local David vs. Goliath documentary, that was originally slated to screen at their annual festival in March.
The film features a group of Latino farmers who facing gentrification, find themselves representing a movement to save the last green space in Santa Cruz’s Beach Flats neighborhood. Corporate power, city politics, and local activism collide at the intersection of family farming traditions and the “urban growth machine.” [27 min. All ages. Bilingual Spanish-English subtitles.] Click here to watch "No Place to Grow."
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Sarah's County Covid-19 Report
By SARAH RINGLER
The Santa Cruz County Health Department regularly releases data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county. The following announcement has been added to the site:
"Due to a significant and unresolved problem with the State of California’s CalREDIE reporting system, the County of Santa Cruz Public Health Department, as well as county public health departments statewide, are experiencing significant underreporting of COVID-19 testing results. Because of this problem, the information presented in this dashboard/these dashboards may be incomplete. We will provide updates on the status of these reporting delays as soon as they are available. Additional information about these delays may be available from the State of California."
With this in mind, as of August 6, there are 1,213 reported cases who have tested positive. This is an increase of 13% from last Thursday. Six people have died.
To get tested without a doctor’s request, call 1-888-634-1123 or go online at https://lhi.care/start. The testing clinic is at at Ramsay Park in Watsonville.
To visit the website for the Santa Cruz County Health Department:
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Weekly increases in positive tests:
June 12-19 - 7%
June 19-26 - 23%
June 26 to July 3 - 22%
July 3-9 - 23%
July 9-16 - 40%
July 16-23 - 20%
July 23-30 - 27%
July 30-August 6 - 13%
Tested positive by jurisdiction:
4% Capitola
18% Santa Cruz
2% Scotts Valley
18% unincorporated
51% Watsonville
Under investigation 6%
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Tested positive by age:
17 and under - 11%
18-34 - 36%
35-49 - 24%
50-64 - 19%
65 or older, 8% tested positive
Tested positive by ethnicity, rounded off:
6% Multi-Race and other - 9% of the county's total population
37% white - 56% of the county's total population
57% Latinx - 34% of the county's total population
Tested positive by gender:
53% female
47% male
0% Under investigation - was "other"
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"There's one way to find out if a man is honest - ask him. If he says, 'Yes,' you know he is a crook."
Groucho Marx
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YOUR STORY HERE: Please submit a story that you think would be of interest to the people of Santa Cruz County. Photos are also welcome. Try and keep the word count around 400. Also, there should be suggested action if possible. Submit to coluyaki@gmail.com
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Welcome to Serf City Times. Over time, our county has grown more stratified and divided with many people feeling left out. Housing affordability, racism and low wages are the most obvious factors. However, many groups and individuals in Santa Cruz County work tirelessly to make our county a better place for everyone. These people work on the environment, housing, economic justice, criminal justice, disability rights, immigrant rights, racial justice, transportation, workers’ rights, education reform, gender issues, equity issues, electoral politics and more. Often, one group doesn’t know what another is doing. The Serf City Times is dedicated to serving as a clearinghouse for those issues by letting you know what is going on and how you can support them. This is not a profit-making enterprise and all work is volunteer.
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