Cartoon by STEVEN DECINZO |
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School and Neighbors Want Advance Notification of Pesticide Spraying
By KATHLEEN KILPATRICK
The Santa Cruz Grand Jury’s 2021 report covered a range of local issues, including fire and Covid responses, with a final section on pesticides. The report included a recommendation that our Ag Commissioner’s office do a pilot project on advance public notification when toxic pesticides are applied, and that our County Supervisors support state-wide efforts to expand such notifications. Perhaps since the vast majority of pesticides are applied in south Santa Cruz County, these proposed actions did not engage four of the five supervisors, who did not appear to have read that section of the report. Only Greg Caput, from Watsonville, voted to discuss the topic further. All four others, Ryan Coonerty, Zach Friend, Manu Koenig and Bruce McPherson blew the issue off. Liberals they may be, but this cavalier dismissal reeks of environmental racism.
Farmworkers are often not informed about the chemicals applied close to them. The same goes for schools and occupants of neighborhoods that are near fields. The county’s largest senior neighborhood is surrounded on three sides by agriculture.
If you agree that we have the right to know about potential exposures to toxic pesticides, contact your supervisor - click on their name above - and let him know you disagree with his vote. We have the expertise and technology to do a dynamite pilot study in this county. We just need more folks demanding that we do it. Contact your sup today! If it’s Greg Caput, thank him, and ask him to schedule those public meetings he proposed.
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Yes on Empty Home Tax - Official Campaign Kickoff, Oct. 16
You’re invited to join us for an official campaign kickoff of the Empty Home Tax! for an afternoon of speakers, brews, and tunes on October 16, 1-3pm at the Shanty Shack Brewing, 138 Fern St., Santa Cruz.
Local Santa Cruz band Knotty Nate’s Family Tree with Nate Martisius of Dub Congress will provide some groovy music, and an awesome lineup of speakers to discuss how the Empty Home Tax is taking on the affordable housing crisis in our community.
Grab a pint, or whatever beverage you prefer, and connect with community members to talk about this critical initiative in our community. We’ll have a team there to answer your questions and plug you into our grassroots campaign. Please bring a mask and get vaccinated; all Santa Cruz County Health Covid 19 recommendations will be followed at the event.
Hope to see you there!
Click here for more information. We need your support. If you can't make, it please consider donating here or send money to:
Empty Home Tax!
824 Hanover St.
Santa Cruz, CA 95062
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Black-necked stilts gather in the shallows of Elkhorn Slough at Moss Landing.
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Using the Law to Take Away the Only Home You Have
By KEITH MCHENRY
A new law that could prevent overnight parking for many people who live in their RVs is expected to be heard by the Santa Cruz City Council on Oct. 26.
The council discussed the item last Tuesday. It did not take formal action except to schedule the hearing and direct the mayor to create a council committee to explore expansion of safe parking programs. The vote was 6-0 with Mayor Donna Meyers absent.
If you had to hand a stunned sixty year-old woman a tent and direct her to a empty spot under the Soquel Bridge after her vehicle was towed to Moss Landing with her family photo album, medication and all her worldly belongings, you might thing differently about passing this cruel law.
The policy of ticketing people who live in their vehicles until they can not afford to register them so they can be junked and the owner sent to live in a tent along the river is criminal. The morning after Andy Mill's Operation West Side Story, I saw nearly 30 people sleeping under blankets and sleeping bags in the doorways of downtown. He towed an RV taken from a disabled man who was left standing on the side of the street with only his cane.
The number of people that will be evicted into their cars and RVs is likely to be in the millions this winter. Hundreds of those people will be seeking a place to sleep in their RV or car in their hometown of Santa Cruz. Do you really think the policy of robbing people's only place of shelter so they have to move to a tent along the river is wise and humane? The Oversized Vehicle Ordinance is cruel.
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"In penetrating into the origin and growth of great fortunes, this vital fact is constantly forced upon the investigator: that Law has been the most valuable asset possessed by the capitalist class. Without it, this class would have been as helpless as a babe. What would the medieval baron have been without armed force? But note how sinuously conditions have changed. The capitalist class, far shrewder than the feudalistic rulers, dispenses with a personally equipped armed force. It becomes superfluous. All that is necessary to do is to make laws, and so guide things that the officials who enforce the laws are responsive to the interests of the propertied classes. Backing the laws are the police forces, sheriffs and militia all kept at the expense of the city, county and State - at the public expense. Clearly, then, having control of the laws and of the officials, the propertied classes have the full benefit of armed forces the expense of which, however, they do not have to defray. It has unfolded itself as a vast improvement over the crude feudal system."
Gustavus Myers
from his 1909 book, "History of the Great American Fortunes: Volume I"
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Santa Cruz 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 number of cases on Thursday totaled 19,527, up 46 from last Thursday's 19,481. The number of deaths rose by 2 to 215. The latest 2 deaths were both from vaccinated women with underlying conditions and were community-acquired. Click to view a graph of hospitalizations here.
On Sept. 29, the Centers for Disease Control, updated their COVID-19 Data Tracker to show that Santa Cruz County moved to Moderate (yellow) community transmission. Under the County’s Face Covering Order, County face covering requirements are rescinded, effective immediately.
On the county's vaccination webpage, as of Oct. 3, 71% of the county have had at least one dose and 65% have had two doses. This has not changed from last week. 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.
The county's Effective Reproductive Number is below one. See chart below. Numbers above one show the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing.
The county is offering free COVID-19 testing locations around the county. For information on how to get tested at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, at Ramsay Park in Watsonville or by the mobile testing bus that covers the San Lorenzo Valley, visit this site.
Any Californian age 12 or up can get vaccinated for free. For information on getting vaccinated, click here.
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% deaths by ethnicity:
White - 55%
Latinx - 36%
Black - 1%
Asian - 7%
American Native - 1%
Unknown - 1%
% deaths by gender/% of population:
Female - 50%/50%
Male - 50%/50%
Other - 0
Under Investigation - 0
Deaths by age/212:
25-34 - 2%
35-44 - 2%
45-54 - 2%
55-59 - 1%
60-64 - 6%
65-74 - 18%
75-84 - 22%
85+ - 45%
% tested positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 11%/12%
North county - 51%/56%
South county - 36%/32%
Under investigation - 0%
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-Aug. 6 - 13%
Aug. 6-13- 12%
Aug.14-20 - 16%
Aug.20-28 - 10%
Aug. 28-Sept. 3 - 10%
Sept. 3-10 - 6%
Sept. 10-17- 8%
Sept. 17-24 - 7%
Sept. 25- Oct.1 - 5%
Oct. 1 - 9 - 4%
Oct. 9-15 - 4%
Oct. 15-22 - 5%
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Oct. 23-29 - 4%
Oct. 30-Nov. 5 - 6%
Nov. 5-12 - 10%
Nov. 12-19 - 11%
Nov. 19-26 - holiday
Nov. 19-Dec. 3 - 29% 2 weeks of data for this week only
Dec. 3-10 - 16%
Dec. 10-17 - 17%
Dec. 17-24 - 14%
Dec. 24-31 - 19%
Jan. 1-7 - 13%
Jan. 7-14 - 14%
Jan. 15-21 - 11%
Jan. 21-28 - 5%
Jan. 28-Feb. 4 - 5%
Feb. 5-11 - 2%
Feb. 11-18 - 2%
Feb. 18-25 - 1%
Feb. 25-March 5 - 1%
March 5-11 - 1%
March 11-18 - 2%
March 18-25 - .5%
March 25 - Apr. 1 - .7%
Apr. 1-8 - 0.1%
Apr. 9-15 - 1%
Apr. 16-22 - 2%
Apr. 22-30 - 2%
Apr. 30 - May 6 - .3%
May 6-13 - 2%
May 13-20 - 0%
May 24 - Data readjustment by county means percentages cannot be calculated this week.
May 27 - June 3 - 0%
June 3-10 - 0%
June 11-17 - .25%
June 18-24 - 0%
June 25-July 1 - 0%
July 2-8 - .3%
July 9-15 - .2%
July 16-22 - .5%
July 23-29 - 1.2%
July 30-Aug. 5 - 2%
Aug. 6-12 - .7%
Aug.13-19 - 4%
Aug. 20-26 - .7%
Aug. 26-Sept. 2 - 3%
Sept. 2-9 - 2%
Sept. 10-16 - 1%
Sept. 17-22 - 1%
Sept. 23-30 - 2%
Oct. 1-7 - 0%
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Fashion Street - Playing the "Greens," not the Blues
By SARAH RINGLER
Legs Leroux performs on the streets of San Francisco with his green clarinet.
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Labor History Calendar for September 24-30:
Oct. 8, 1916: Soldiers attack IWW Hall in Sydney, Australia.
Oct. 8, 2020: More than 600 arrested on third day of national strikes against labor law “reforms” in Indonesia.
Oct. 9, 1982: Solidarnosc union outlawed in Poland.
Oct. 10, 1912: IWW strike, Little Falls, NY.
Oct. 10, 1933: 18,000 workers strike in cotton fields in Pixley, CA. Four are killed; a pay hike was won.
Oct. 10, 1995: French general strike begins.
Oct. 11, 1424: Death of Jan Zizka, leader of the Bohemian Revolution.
Oct. 12, 1492: Native Americans discover Christopher Columbus.
Oct. 12, 1898: Seven miners killed stopping scabs by company guards in Virden, Ill.
Oct. 12, 1902: 14 miners killed and 22 wounded by scab herders at Pana, Ill.
Oct. 13, 1909: Education reformer Francisco Ferrer executed: Spanish government says free school led to workers’ revolt.
Oct. 14, 1883: International Working People’s Association founded in Pittsburg, PA.
Oct. 14, 1976: Canadian general strike.
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Ancient Green Chili Stew
By SARAH RINGLER
Here’s an authentic native American stew made from green chilis, lamb, hominy and juniper berries from Marcia Keegan’s “Pueblo and Navajo Cookery.” Stews are one dish meals that can feed a large group, and are probably one of the earliest examples of cuisine. All that is needed is a big pot, a heat source, water and ingredients.
Wild chilis, according to the National Academy of Sciences, came from the Valley of Tehuacan in Mexico around 9,500 years ago and may be one of the oldest cultivated crops in the Americas. Now, chilis are grown all over the world with China being the largest producer at 17.4 million tonnes in 2016, followed by the second largest producer, Mexico, at 2.7 million tonnes.
8,000 years ago, the native Puebloans in central New Mexico developed their personal variety of chilis with a full-bodied flavor, only slightly hot and eaten in both its green and red forms. Although different communities cultivated their own unique varieties, those basic characteristics tend to define most chilies from New Mexico chilis from the famous Hatch chili grown in a bend in the Rio Grande River, to many other versions from Chimayo, Española, Isleta and more. Ortega, a common canned brand of green chilis, is made from Anaheim chilis, developed by Emilio Ortega who brought the seeds from New Mexicio to Anaheim, California in 1894. Canned chilis are a real time saver since they are already roasted and the skin and most seeds are removed.
Pozole, commonly eaten all over Latin America, is a dried corn that has been treated first through being soaked in water and then cooked in a lye solution. Lye can come from ash from burning wood or limestone. Also called hominy in the U.S., that word comes from a Powhatan word, Chickahominy, spoken in what is now the state of Virginia.
Although not a berry but resembling them, juniper berries – Juniperus communis - have long been used as a spice in European cooking. A sweeter and less resinous North American variety, Juniperus californica, has been used by native people as a spice, medicine and in jewelry making. When crushed, they add a pine-like flavor and give this stew an unusual flavor that makes it special.
1 ½ pounds boned lamb cut into 1” square pieces
¾ cup flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon lard or oil
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 dried juniper berries crushed
1 medium sliced onion
2 ½ cups canned pozole or hominy
1 ½ tablespoons red chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, peeled and mashed
1 teaspoon oregano
3 green chili peppers, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 cups water
Coat squares of lamb in flour, salt. Heat in oil in a large heavy saucepan over medium to medium high heat. When oil or lard shimmers, add lamb. Adjust heat and brown slowly on all sides. While meat is browning, add black pepper and juniper berries.
Transfer meat to plate. Sauté onion in pan until slightly wilted. Return meat to the pan. Add remaining ingredients and simmer covered for 1 ½ hours stirring occasionally. 6 servings
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YOUR STORY OR ART HERE: Please submit a story 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 possible. 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 © 2021 Sarah Ringler - All rights reserved
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