Progressive Voters Invited to Endorsement Forum

By JEFFREY SMEDBERG

Santa Cruz for Bernie will hold our endorsement forum for seats open in the March 2024 Primary Election for Santa Cruz City Council and County Board of Supervisors on July 19, at the Live Oak Grange. Members of other local progressive organizations are invited to attend the forum. 

The forum is Wed., Jul. 19, 7-9pm at the Live Oak Grange, 1900 17th Ave., Santa Cruz. 

For Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, First District candidates Zack Raney and Lani Faulkner and Fifth District candidates Christopher Bradford and Monica Martinez have confirmed their participation in the forum.

For Santa Cruz City Council, District 3 candidate Joy Schendledecker and District 5 candidate Joe Thompson have confirmed their participation.

The forum will be facilitated by Cyndi Dawson, a City of Santa Cruz Planning Commissioner. SC4B members present will consider endorsements immediately following the forum.

A Short and Sad Film About What Happened to the Sandinista Revolution in Nicaragua and The Art of Mejía Godoy

By SARAH RINGLER

Local filmmaker Jon Silver, has just completed a fascinating film about Nicaraguan singer, songwriter, poet and painter, Carlos Mejía Godoy. In the film Mejía Godoy tells the sad story about what happened to the Sandinista Revolution and how it led to his current exile in Santa Rosa, CA. It also features his beautiful paintings and songs. To watch the flim, click on the "Watch Movie Here" on the poster above.

Jon Silver has made many documentary films over the years, including the 2022 film "Foodie for the People" about famous local chef Jozseph Schultz who ran India Joze Restaurant.

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Tango dancers bring their talents to the streets of Buenos Aires.

2) Groundswells & Gatherings

By WOODY REHANEK

Imagine Ginger & Marleta

Dancing for their freedom

Making things right

Leaving their troubles behind.

Some people waltz on graves,

Some twist to save face,

some two-step to amaze,

some hip-hop for grace.

Some have something to prove;

some have nothing to lose.

The music slackens & swells,

Ebbs & flows, telling its tales

of wise men & fools

You cannot lose

on the dance floor 

because the unwritten rule 

is freedom without harm.

Swimming in the music stream 

is like dancing in the rain, 

finding a place way beyond pleasure & pain. 

Ginger & Marleta

hopscotching chaos & calamity 

to reach resilience & dignity: 

dealing, healing, 

licking wounds 

discarding baggage 

seeking light 

mending scars 

triumphant, taking flight 

shouting hallelujahs w/wild abandon:

They dance in surges & lulls, 

ebbs & flows, to set us free.

For those who care to listen 

it’s a master class in emptiness:

They become light-hearted, their 

hearts weighing less than a feather.

Dancing on the edge of the American 

dream, beside the still waters 

& churning, intricate electric songs,

things take on new meanings, 

& time stands still.

The music weaves past & future together 

as sun-splashed rosequartz crystals 

blaze crimson in the winter.

Now the dancers become the dance. 

The musicians become the music. 

Moments become eternity.

All the artistry, magnificence 

& majesty of Ginger & Marleta’s

lives are woven into their dance 

in harmony, kindness, joy & unity 

as touchstones to all the people 

& things they will forever love.

********



“Nobody cares if you can’t dance well. 

Just get up and dance.” -- Martha Graham.

“When I don’t dance, I feel disconnected.” --Iolani Luahine.

Rally and March to Reflect and Remember Aug. 6 and 9, 1945 Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki

By SARAH RINGLER

Join your Santa Cruz County community at the Town Clock in downtown Santa Cruz to remember and reflect on the Aug. 6, 1945 bombing of Hiroshima, Japan by the Americans that killed an estimated 90,000-140,00 people - 39% of the population who were mostly civilians. Three days later Nagasaki was bombed killing 60-80,000 - 32% of the population. It was the first and only time, so far, that atomic weapons were used in war. Many more people died in years to follow from the effects of acute radiation syndrome. Others died of cancer, suffered birth defects and brain defects.

Click on Arrow Above to Watch Mime Troupe Present Their New Show, "Breakdown"

By SARAH RINGLER

Mark your calendars now for the Aug. 19-20 San Francisco Mime Troupe presentation of their new "Breakdown, A New Musical," 3pm, outside at the London Nelson Community, 301 Center St. in downtown Santa Cruz. Get there early for a good spot. Bring low backed chairs or blankets if you want to sit closer to the stage.

For cathartic laughter under the gray skies of living in the USA, you can't beat the Mime Troupe, now in their 64th year. On July 1, they began their tour in Berkeley and end it in San Francisco Sept. 4. For information and to donate go HERE.

Mariachi, Bomba, Tejano, Son, Cumbia, Son Jarocho and More

By ADAM BOLANOS SCOW

Please join us on Sat. Aug. 5 at El Vaquero Winery in Corralitos for a performance party featuring the dynamic Rasquache Liberation Front (RLF), with a special set by RosaAzul. Come ready to enjoy great music, drink great wine, eat good food, celebrate life, and besides, it will also be Adam's birthday. You may reserve seats here bit.ly/evwevents.

The RLF, featuring the versatile Russell Rodriguez, is a dynamic band that blends diverse Latin genres, from mariachi to bomba, Tejano to Cuban son. With decades of experience and opening for big-name artists like Los Lobos, their live shows are an electrifying fusion of cumbia, son jarocho, and Mexican-Americana originals. 

José Chuy Hernandez and Adam Bolaños-Scow founded RosaAzul as a performance-driven ensemble dedicated to honoring and presenting some of the very best Mexican music with their audiences. With their extensive musical backgrounds, RosaAzul is motivated to perform pieces with a musicianship and taste that allows audiences to appreciate and discover the variety and beauty of Mexican mariachi, classical, and romantic music. The band has recently made successful performances at Kuumbwaa Jazz in Santa Cruz, Santa Clara University, and Cal State University at Monterey Bay.  

Photo by TARMO HANNULA 

A robin lights on a lawn at Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park in Tulare County. Established by Colonel Allen Allensworth in 1908, the town was the first in California to be founded, financed, and governed by African-Americans.

Santa Cruz County Covid-19 Report - Fourth week rise in Rt Number

By SARAH RINGLER

The California Department of Public Health reports on Covid-19 for The Santa Cruz County Health Department. They regularly release data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county. There have been no new deaths in the county since Dec. 15. Since cases are still appearing, and there are still vulnerable people, I will continue reporting the graphs below.

The three graphs below give a picture of what is happening currently. The first graph below shows the Rt Number. Numbers above one show the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing. The last 3 weeks have risen above one.

The second graph below shows data that the Health Department collects for Covid from wastewater at the City Influent, for the city of Santa Cruz, and from the Lode Street pump stations for the county. This graph shows wastewater level to be below Center for Disease Control's moderate risk threshold.

The third graph below shows hospitalizations. Click to see more information on hospitalizations HERE.



The vaccination data for the county has stayed fairly constant increasing very little over time. Go HERE for new information on vaccination records, treatments, vaccines, tests, safety in the workplace and more.

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Fashion Street - A man dons a traditional Mexican poncho and straw sombrero while visiting the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Labor History Calendar - July 7-13 , 2023

a.k.a Know Our History Lest We Forget

July 14, 1877: General strike halts railroads. 

July 14, 1912: Birth of Woody Guthrie.

July 14, 1921: Sacco and Vanzetti convicted after two-month frame-up trial.

July 14, 2014: Los Angeles port truckers launch 5-day strike; dockworkers briefly honor picket lines.

July 15, 1917: 50,000 lumberjacks strike for eight-hour day.

July 15, 2012: 7,000 workers occupy state-owned Mist Spinning plant in Egypt.

July 15, 2022: US government blocks national rail strike, mediation board calls for 24% pay hikes and one-man crews.

July 16, 1876: Birth of Vincent St. John, leader of WFM and IWW.

July 16, 1877: Great Uprising, nationwide railway strike.

July 16, 1913: IWW cigar workers strike in Pittsburgh, PA.

July 17, 1936: Spanish Civil War begins.

July 18, 1969: Hospital workers end 113-day strike that saw united efforts by strikers, students and civil rights groups in Charleston, SC. 

July 19, 1848: Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, NY.

July 19, 1877: Pittsburgh strikers drive soldiers out of town. 

July 20, 1934: 76 strikers wounded in Minneapolis truckers’ strike.

July 20 2020: Strikes, protests across US support Black Lives Matter fight.

Labor History Calendar has been published yearly by the Hungarian Literature Fund since 1985.

"Conservatives want live babies

so they can train them to be dead soldiers."

George Carlin

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Not as Beautiful as St. Peter's Dome

By SARAH RINGLER 

Are you a knitter or like to put together model airplanes? Maybe you like the fine art of wood parquetry or marquetry. This dish is for people who don’t mind, or even like, to combine fine motor skills with their cooking. You have to have time and patience. The results are an impressive ribbed dome of pasta filled with vegetables and cheese. 

This is another fine recipe from Francine Segan's “Pasta Modern” available at the Watsonville Library. There are a few challenges with this recipe. The first was finding a concave bowl that had the right dome-like slope, was large enough, and could bake in the oven. Pyrex probably makes a good 2-quart one. The second was spiraling the long tubes of pasta up the sides of bowl and having them stick together. I almost reached for Elmer's glue at one point.

All the butter and cheese makes this dish a very rich vegetable macaroni and cheese. I cut the butter by a few tablespoons. I also mixed red bell peppers with broccoli and mushrooms because I like that combination. Vegetables will need to be cooked before you add them to the dome. 

Also called perciatelli, bucatini is a form of pasta common in Rome and surrounding parts. It looks like spaghetti except it is slightly thicker and has a hole up the center like a long straw. The center hole allows the flavors to permeate the pasta. "Buco" means hole in Italian. I had never cooked with it before so again I entered new territory in the world of cooking thanks to Francine Segan and the Watsonville Public Library. 

Bucatini Dome – Cupopa di bucatini 

8-12 tablespoons butter

6 cups of finely chopped vegetables like zucchini, broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, green beans or red bell pepper

1 pound bucatini or perciatelli pasta, long tubes of pasta 

2 large eggs

Pecorino cheese, grated

Pepper and salt

12 ounces, provolone, thinly sliced

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously butter an oven-safe glass, ceramic or metal bowl. 

In a large frying pan heat 1-2 tablespoons of butter. Cook the vegetables until done but firm. You can cook them separately or together. Mix them in a large bowl and then take 1 cup of this mixture and set aside.

Boil the pasta in salted water for about 8 minutes. Drain and divide the pasta putting 2/3 of it in the bowl with the vegetables. Put the remaining third in a smaller bowl and dot with 2 tablespoons of butter so it doesn’t stick. 

Add the remaining 5-8 tablespoons of butter to the pasta and vegetable mix and stir until it has melted. Then add the eggs, pecorino cheese and pepper. Using a kitchen scissors, cut up this pasta into smaller lengths. Mix well and set aside. 

Now you are going to make the dome by placing the long strands of cooked bucatini around the inside of the bowl. Start spiraling the first strand at the bottom. Continue adding more strands as you coil up the inside of the baking dish. You don’t need to go to the top of the bowl.

Next, line the pasta with thin slices of the provolone. Add the vegetable mixture and press down in to the pasta bowl. Cover with more slices of cheese. Cover the bowl with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes.

When done, hit the bowl with a wooden spoon, loosen the pasta with a knife and invert onto a plate. Cover with the reserved cup of mixed vegetable and serve. 

Welcome to Serf City Times Our county has problems and many people feel 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. 

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