Measure N Aims to Tackle Funding for Affordable Housing
By CYNDI DAWSON
Spurred by Santa Cruz’s intensifying housing crisis, a broad coalition of community members are supporting Measure N, the Empty Home Tax, to fund the creation of more affordable housing in the City of Santa Cruz. Measure N qualified for the November ballot through a community driven effort that garnered over 4000 signatures from registered voters in the City of Santa Cruz.
The ballot initiative levies a tax on properties in the city that are not occupied for at least 120 days each year. Revenue raised from the tax would go into a dedicated fund to support the creation of affordable housing for lower income levels. Measure N doesn’t tax where people live, including Accessory Dwelling Units.
Initiative proponents believe that creating a source of revenue dedicated to creating housing for lower income levels will help address housing affordability. We want our teachers, service workers, healthcare workers, caregivers as well as state and county workers to be able to afford to live where they work. These are the people who allow this community to be such a special place and we want them as our neighbors.
Miriam Greenberg, Chair of the Sociology Department at UC Santa Cruz and co-author of the No Place Like Home study said, “We need an everything and the kitchen sink approach to help solve the housing affordability crisis and the Empty Home Tax is one tool that can make an important impact.” Greenberg, her colleagues, and community partners studied affordable housing options in the project, and identified Santa Cruz as the least affordable small city in the U.S. Over 70 percent of Santa Cruz renters interviewed for the project experience a significant rent burden, defined as when a household pays more than 30 percent of their income to housing costs. The impact is disproportionate for community members of color.
If the Empty Home Tax is successful, it would take effect through a partnership between the City and County beginning in 2023. Measure language outlines details on administrative funding, the creation of a Community Oversight Committee, annual reporting through a simple, easy, and fast self-declaration process modeled after processes already in use and working well. A recent Fiscal Impact Report from the City of Santa Cruz estimated the tax could bring in $2.4 - $4 million annually.
City of Santa Cruz Councilmember and District 3 Supervisor Candidate Justin Cummings has endorsed the measure, saying “The Empty Home Tax is advancing a community conversation about equity and housing justice. I want a Santa Cruz where all income levels can thrive and that is why I am supporting this community driven expert informed campaign to increase funding for affordable housing.”
Campaign Mailing Address:
824 HANOVER ST
SANTA CRUZ, CA 95062-2207
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Don't Miss Mime Troupe and Empty Home Tax Events on Aug. 20
By SARAH RINGLER
This Saturday, Aug. 20, plan your day with a visit to the Shanty Shack, 138 Fern St. in Harvey West Park, Santa Cruz, where the Empty Home Tax, Measure N, is launching their November election drive at 1pm. There will be music, beer and more.
For humor and a keen sense of the times, the Santa Francisco Mime Troupe will never let you down. After enjoying your beer at the Shanty Shack, come to park in the back of London Nelson Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz, to watch "Back to the Way Things Were." Bring blankets or chairs to sit on. Music starts at 2:30 and the play begins at 3. I'll donate to this free event in your name if you're not satisfied.
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Rail Art - The Coast Starlight on its way from Los Angeles to Seattle, passing north of the Pajaro Station around 7:30pm where unfortunately it doesn't stop. The nearest stations are in San Jose and Salinas.
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Still Waiting for County to Release Full 2022 Santa Cruz County PIT Homeless Census and Survey
By SARAH RINGLER
Every other year since 2011, Santa Cruz County has contracted with Applied Survey Research to survey and analyze data that can be used to inform the county with information about its homeless population. To create the report, the company uses methodology recommended by the the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.
According to the company's website, they use "homeless workers and volunteers to canvass every area of the county and follow up with a face-to-face survey eliciting the details of the enumerated population. The results of the census and survey produce a point-in-time count of homelessness in Santa Cruz County, and provide the County with information about its homeless population."
The 2021 survey was axed due to Covid but was conducted in Santa Cruz County this year in February. Many counties in California, like San Mateo, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo and San Benito have already announced and posted their results.
Some selected information from the report has been released by the county but the full report is still being held up. When I contacted John Connery of Applied Survey Research, he confirmed the report had been completed but didn't know when the full report was going to be released.
I particularly am interested in the number of homeless in our county that are locals. In the 2019 report it was 74%. Many people still say that our homeless are from out of town but the evidence does not support that.
Contact your supervisor and ask them to release the full report.
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Brown pelicans head out to the Monterey Bay past the stacks at Moss Landing.
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Santa Cruz County Covid-19 Report - Department is Monitoring for Monkeypox
By SARAH RINGLER
The department is also monitoring for monkeypox viral DNA in wastewater solids. The heatmaps and charts display data from WastewaterSCAN’s monitoring for monkeypox viral DNA; the results shown include the northern California communities served by the Sewer Coronavirus Alert Network (SCAN) and the communities in California and across the US participating in WastewaterSCAN.
Because of the availability of home testing, I will no longer be reporting on changes in the active cases in the county. The Health Department is now collecting data from wastewater at the City Influent for the city of Santa Cruz, and from the Lode Street pump stations for the county. See webpage HERE. The first chart below shows the county data.
There were no new deaths this week. Click to view a graph of hospitalizations here.
I will no longer be reporting on vaccinations because two boosters, with probably more on the way, are not factored into the the county's vaccination data. Besides, there has been little change in the last seven months. Here are more details on the county's vaccination data.
This webpage also has a link where you can get a digital copy and scannable QR code of your vaccination record. Keep track of your four-digit code because that is your access to the site. This information is still being requested as it was last Saturday at Cabrillo College's Crocker Theater. The play, "Candide" was spectacular.
The county's Effective Reproductive Number is now below one. See the second chart below. Numbers above one show the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing. The chart, released from the California Department of Public Health below shows several predictions from different agencies. For information, click here.
The government has issued three rounds of four free Antigen Rapid Tests here. If you have not ordered tests or have only ordered one set, you are entitled to a full 12 boxes. Order now while supplies last. To get information of COVID-19 testing locations around the county visit this site. You can make an apppointment for a Rapid Antigen Test here.
Any Californian, ages six months and older can get vaccinated for free. For information on getting vaccinated, click here.
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Deaths by age/268:
25-34 - 5/268
35-44 - 8/268
45-54 - 10/268
55-59 - 4/268
60-64 - 15/268
65-74 - 47/268
75-84 - 62/268
85+ - 117/268
Deaths by gender:
Female - 131/268
Male - 137/268
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Deaths by vaccination status:
vaccinated - 34/268
unvaccinated - 234/268
Deaths by ethnicity:
White - 155/268
Latinx - 90/268
Black - 3/268
Asian - 16/268
American Native - 1/268
Unknown - 0
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Fashion Street - The Spirit Watsonville Fourth of July Parade downtown, 2022.
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Labor History Calendar Aug. 19-25, 2022
a.k.a Know Your History Lest You Forget
Aug.19, 1909: First edition of IWW Little Red Songbook.
Aug. 20, 1909: On the corner of Mariposa and I Streets from Oct. 1910 to March 1911, California's first fight for free speech and attempt to organize the San Joaquin Valley's unskilled workers was fought by the IWW.
Aug. 21, 1831: Nat Turner leads slave revolt in Virginia.
Aug. 21, 1918: 150,000 Yorkshire coal miners begin two-day strike.
Aug. 21, 2018: US prisoners strike against prison conditions and slave labor.
Aug. 22, 1791 Slave uprising begins Revolution in Haiti. By 1803, the most successful slave revolt in history according to NkrumahSteward.com resulted in the French being defeated at the Battle of Vertieres and Haiti becoming an independent country ruled by former slaves.
Aug. 22, 1916: IWW free-speech fight begins in Everett, Washington.
Aug. 23, 1834: British National Trades Union founded.
Aug. 23, 1927 Sacco and Vanzetti executed.
Aug. 23, 2021 Striking doctors forced back to work after pharmacists pledge to join strike in Nigeria.
Aug. 24, 1980: Solidarnosc founded in Gdansk, Poland.
Aug. 24, 2020: Media reports Tacoma area postal workers defied managers to reinstall six mail sorting machines removed to slow delivery.
Aug. 25, 1819: Birth of Allen Pinkerton whose strike breaking detectives - Pinks - gave us the word "fink."
Aug. 25, 1933: 100 IWW pickets arrested in Yakima, Washington.
Aug. 25, 1968: Battle of Lincoln Park, Chicago.
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"It took Haiti 122 years to pay back restitution to France for winning their freedom. Haiti made its last payment to France, for the loan it took to reimburse the slave owners for owning them, in 1947. So while the United States is off fighting Nazis and dropping Atomic Bombs on Japan, the Haitian people are still paying off a loan to reimburse their slave owners.
In 2010 Pat Robertson made a public statement that the reason Haiti was hit with such a terrible earthquake on Tuesday, 12 January 2010 was because the leaders of the slave revolt in 1804 made a “pact to the devil” to gain their independence. Remember, two-thirds of these enslaved Africans on the island of Haiti were African born. They were NOT Christians. These enslaved Africans practiced their traditional indigenous African religions. They did not seek strength from “Christ” to bring them victory over their slave-owners, they were asking for that strength from their own ancestors and Gods. It was the opinion of Pat Robertson that this earthquake was God paying them back."
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Pinole Salad and a Conejillo Cocktail
By SARAH RINGLER
These recipes are from the Paraiso Bar in Zacatecas, Mexico. My friend Flavia Murrillo and I kept the bar chairs warm there most nights after watching the dances at the International Folk Dance Festival that happens there every summer, usually the last week in August. El Paraiso's manager told us that the establishment had brought in experts from London to advise them on their menu. The goal was to highlight and improve local products, like mezcal, pinole and gorditas. Here is the green salad with pinole dressing, and the frequently imbibed by Flavia and I, the Conejillo, a fantastic drink that is so healthy, you feel fantastic instantly after the first sip.
Mezcal is a liquor distilled from the heart of the agave plant that has been baked in a large oven for around three days. It has a slight smoky taste and is similar to tequila except tequila is only made from the blue agave plant. Both liquors have been regulated by the Mexican government with only particular regions authorized to use the name. Tequila used to be limited to the state of Jalisco but now certain areas of Guanajuato, Michoacán and Tamaulipas can also call their product Tequila. Mezcal used to be limited to the state of Oaxaca but now can be made and claimed by Guerrero, Durango, San Luis Potosí and Zacatecas.
I usually go to Zacatecas every couple of years and really noticed the growth of mezcalerias. Unfortunately, stores downtown that used to sell goods to the locals are turning more and more into shops that cater to tourists. One of the antidotes to globalization that moved the production of goods to places with the cheapest labor costs, was suppose to be tourism; close down factories and replace the lost jobs with income through tourism. You can see it all over the world. Cities from San Cristobal de las Casas in southern Mexico, to Beijing, China have spent lots of bucks to change their authentic and historic downtowns into artificial Disneyland-like facsimiles of the original place geared to deep-pocketed tourists and with all the charm of a smiley face. Some locals now find jobs as clerks in souvenir shops, at the Hilton or its corporate equivalent or as a huckster, touting just about everything.
Pinole is the Nahuatl word for cornmeal. It is roasted corn that can be ground with cacao, cinnamon, agave, chia seeds, vanilla or other spices and added to baked goods or beverages. It is available at Mexican markets. I used an electric coffee grinder.
I'm not much of a bartender so the ingredients for the Conejillo are rough and need to be adjusted. I hope that someone in town can improve on this. Let me know, I'll be there.
Pinole Salad
Green, red leaf lettuce
1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup fennel root, finely sliced
4-6 figs, washed and dried
Pinole dressing
Pinole dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon apple vinegar
4 tablespoons pinole
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Salt
Pepper
pinole:
1 cup dried white corn
1 tablespoon brown sugar or piloncillo
1/2 teaspoon salt
To make pinole, slowly toast dried white corn over low heat on a griddle or comal until golden brown. Cool and grind with 1-2 tbsp. of brown sugar to make powder. I used a coffee grinder. Pour through a strainer to strain out hard bits of corn so you don't crack your teeth.
Wash and dry the best parts of the lettuce. Tear into bite size pieces and put into a salad bowl. Thinly slice the fennel and spread over the lettuce. Then chop the figs into sixths and spread them over the fennel. Finally crumble the goat cheese over that. Chill until ready to serve.
Whisk olive oil, limejuice, apple vinegar, pinole and brown sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste. Adjust flavors and thoroughly whisk. When ready to serve, pour dressing over greens and toss.
Paraiso Bar Conejillo - approximately
1 shot Mezcal
1 shot carrot juice
jarabe de jenibre
lime slice
jarabe de jenibre -
1 small lime
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup water
pinch of salt
Make the jarabe de jenibre by heating the water in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Squeeze in lime juice and stir in ginger, honey and pinch of salt. Stir until mixture is all blended. Set aside to cool.
Mix the mezcal, carrot juice and jarabe de jenibre in a cocktail shaker with a little ice. Pour into a martini glass. Add slice of lime.
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Send your story, poetry or art here: Please submit a story, poem or photo of your art that you think would be of interest to the people of Santa Cruz County. Try and keep the word count to around 400. Also, there should be suggested actions if this is a political issue. Submit to coluyaki@gmail.com
If you are enjoying the Serf City Times, forward it on to others. We need readers, artists, photographers and writers.
Thanks, Sarah Ringler
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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, health, 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, what actions you can take and how you can support these groups.This is a self-funded enterprise and all work is volunteer.
Copyright © 2022 Sarah Ringler - All rights reserved
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