CARTOON by STEVEN DECINZO
June 7 - Vote No on D
By SARAH RINGLER
My email inbox is aflame with messages of indignation about the impending removal of train-tracks across the county that will occur if Measure D, the Greenway Initiative, passes in the June 7 election. An opportunity for light rail that would provide more environmentally clean and equitable transportation would be doomed and we would be left with a future of more gas guzzling, pollution producing, carbon emitting, bumper to bumper traffic.
In the meanwhile, the Rail Trail is continuing to be built. The next segment of the Santa Cruz Westside Rail Trail that will run from the intersection of California Avenue and Bay Street down to the entrance to the wharf has gone out to bid, meaning construction companies will be chosen and work will begin soon after. A 1.4 mile bike and pedestrian trail that will connect Pajaro Valley High School to downtown Watsonville was funded in the 2022 Federal Budget packet. Santa Cruz city and county are holding a community event to discuss a 2.2 mile bike and pedestrian trail along side the Santa Cruz Branch Rail Line that will go from Beach Street and Pacific Avenue to 17th Ave.
Cars can be great but they're expensive to maintain, even disregarding current gas prices. Buses are an alternative but travel on the same roads. During rush hour or when there is an crash, traffic can completely stop or come to a crawl, sometimes for a long time.
There is wide spread support in opposition to Measure D. The Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce posted on Facebook March 22, "The Greenway Initiative would assure continued isolation of South County residents from jobs and opportunities by removing the rail line that can provide reliable light rail public transit that would give many a way to avoid incurable congestion on Highway 1. Greenway Measure D aims to end that possibility." The Democratic Women's Club of Santa Cruz County, the Pajaro Valley Cesar Chavez Democratic Club, the Cabrillo College Federation of Teachers and many more organizations oppose Measure D.
Santa Cruz for Bernie is trying to raise $6,600 to print up 500 No on Measure D yard signs. You may have already seen the large signs that the well-funded Greenway group has posted around the county. If you would like to support the SC4Bernie yard sign project, donate here and vote NO on D in the June 7, election.
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Dolores Huerta to Speak at 20th Annual Cesar Chavez Community Awards
<Photo from THE DOLORES HUERTA FOUNDATION
BY DARYL WISE
The Friends of Watsonville Park and Community Services and the City of Watsonville invite everyone to the 20th Annual Cesar E. Chavez Community Awards being held virtually on Monday, March 28, at 6:30pm.
Special guest and keynote speaker will be Dolores Huerta, celebrated Latina labor leader, activist, community organizer, Presidential Medal of Freedom award winner and President and Founder of the Dolores Huerta Foundation.
The Cesar Chavez Community Awards recognize individuals, organizations and businesses that engage Watsonville youth and empower them to help contribute to their community. More information about the event and Zoom link for the award ceremony can be found at the Friends of Watsonville Parks and Community Services website.
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Pajaro Valley Poetry Reading and Workshop
By ELBINA BATALA RAFIZADEH
You are invited to a Workshop and Poetry Reading given by the Pajaro Valley Arts Gallery as a fundraiser for The Rosales Sisters’ Scholarship that helps first generation or immigrant students get to college. The event is this Saturday from 12-3pm. There will be a Writing Workshop given by Magdalena Mantagne and Poetry Readings by Bob Gomez, Watsonville’s 2022 Poet Laureate, as well as writers from Women of Color Writers' group.
Here are two poems that will be read during the poetry reading.The first poem, "Hunger" was submitted by poet Olga Salinas for "my dear friend, Cecilia Gonzales who just lost her father, Jim Marshall. Also,the reference to a 'poet’s name I can’t remember' is about a poem I wrote myself and lost. I am the poet that wrote the line."
Hunger
By Olga Salinas
There was a poet once—
who’s name I can’t remember—
who wrote a line I can’t forget—
“Grief is what hunger feels like, if hunger were a coat.”
On most days I awake
choking on the fabric
clinging to my skin
hungry to remember,
to hold that poet’s hand
to walk beyond this moment
in grief
to know that poet’s name.
Murphy’s Crossing
By Elbina Batala Rafizadeh
Many summers ago, I stood on the hill
above Murphy’s Crossing
the cooling breeze, the valley view
my future home.
But my father said,
this land with a house that needs fixing
isn’t right for you and your son. He’s only 9.
Where would he play with no kids his age around?
My mother asked.
Why would you live in this old house on a hill far away from everything?
My friend asked.
I don’t know. I answered. There is something here.
So now, I live elsewhere.
And I read about Fermin Tobera.
In 1930, he was killed in the Watsonville Race Riots
by gun shots into his bunkhouse at Riberal’s ranch*
by men who hated the Filipinos
who had come to work in the farms of Watsonville.
A vivid memory - me standing on that hill,
at Murphy’s Crossing
sixty years after Fermin’s murder.
Now I know. I cry for Fermin who died so young.
I cry. I cry. Now I know
That afternoon, when I stood in awe of the valley view,
where he may have also gazed upon the fertile land,
was he pleading in the Silence of the breeze
asking for his voice to be heard?
*Riberal’s ranch was in Murphy’s Crossing, Watsonville, CA
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“There was a stricken conscience of public guilt and we all felt that we had been wrong, that something was wrong with that building which we had accepted or the tragedy never would have happened. Moved by this sense of stricken guilt, we banded ourselves together to find a way by law to prevent this kind of disaster.”
Frances Perkins -
US Secretary of Labor from 1933-1945 and the first woman appointed to the US Cabinet commenting on the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire of March 25, 1911.
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Stop Pesticide Spraying Near Homes and Schools
By ADAM SCOW
This Sunday at 1pm on the patio in front of the Watsonville Staff of Life, the Campaign for Organic and Regenerative Agriculture, CORA, is holding an informative community meeting about pesticide spray around Watsonville. The meeting was spurred by community concern by recent spraying of Malathion on fields near the Senior Villages and Vista Montaña.
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
A western grebe breaks up the reflection of a red boat in the Santa Cruz Harbor.
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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. Total known cases as of March 24 were 47,430, percentage-wise barely changed from last week's 47,308. There were three new deaths.
The government is issuing four free Antigen Rapid Tests for free here.
Because of all the home tests currently available, these numbers are underestimates according to Corinne Hyland, County Health Services Agency spokesperson. She recommends people with minor symptoms stay home, isolate and rest.
Hospitalizations stayed the same from last week. Click to view a graph of hospitalizations here.
There have been few changes in the last week. Active cases in south county dropped by 1%, north county increased by 2% and mid county increased by 1%. See details in the chart below.
On the county's vaccination webpage, the vaccination rate has not changed since Feb. 6; 80% of the county have had at least one dose and 74% have had two doses. 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.
To get information of COVID-19 testing locations around the county visit this site. Vaccine Clinics in Watsonville and Felton are closing. Click here to make an appointment to get tested.
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 - 57%
Latinx - 35%
Black - 1%
Asian - 6%
American Native - 0%
Unknown - 0%
% deaths by gender/% of population:
Female - 49%/50%
Male - 51%/50%
Deaths by age/259:
25-34 - 2%
35-44 - 3%
45-54 - 4%
55-59 - 2%
60-64 - 6%
65-74 - 18%
75-84 - 24%
85+ - 43%
% active cases testing positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 12%/12%
North county - 63%/56%
South county - 25%/32%
Under investigation - 2%
Deaths by vaccination status:
vaccinated - 27/256 = 10%
unvaccinated - 232/259 = 90%
Weekly increases in positive tests:
June 12-19, 2020 - 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%
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%
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Jan. 1-7, 2021 - 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%
Oct. 8-14 - 1%
Oct. 15-21 - 1%
Oct. 22-28 - 1%
Oct. 29-Nov. 4 - 1%
Nov. 5-11 - 1%
Nov. 12-18 - 2%
Nov. 19 - Dec. 2 - 2 weeks 2%
Dec. 2-9 - 2%
Dec. 9-16 - 1%
Dec. 16-23 - 1%
Dec. 24-30 - 2%
Dec. 31 - Jan. 6, 2022 - 5% Growth of home tests underestimates cases below. See above .
Jan. 7-13 - 9%
Jan. 14-20 - 15%
Jan. 21-27 - 9%
Jan. 28 - Feb. 3 - 31%
Feb. 3-10 - 3%
Feb. 11-24 (2 weeks) - 5%
Feb. 25- March 3 - 1%
March 4-10 - 1%
March 11-17 - 1%
March 18-24 - 0%
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Fashion Street - A stuffed panda bear sits at a makeshift table in a homeless camp in downtown Watsonville.
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Labor History Calendar for March 25 - 31, 2022
Sixty-two workers jumped or fell from the windows during the Triangle Shirtwaist fire on March 25, 1911. See below.
Photo PUBLIC DOMAIN
March 25, 1894: First Poor People's March on Washington.
March 25, 1911: Triangle Shirtwaist fire kills 147 garment workers - 123 women and girls and 23 men - who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. The doors to the stairwells and exits were locked to keep workers from taking unauthorized breaks and to reduce theft.
March 26, 1850: Birth of Edward Bellamy, author of "Looking Backward."
March 26, 2011: Maine governor Paul LePage orders labor history mural destroyed.
March 27, 1885: Army fires on general strikers in Charleroi, Belgium killing many.
March 27, 1912: Start of 8-month Fraser River Strike by IWW railroad construction workers in British Columbia.
March 28, 1972: Quebec general strike. 300,000 workers walked off their jobs.
March 28, 1983: 96% of Argentine workers strike and the junta totters.
March 29, 1948: Police charge strikers blockading NY Stock Exchange doors and 43 are arrested.
March 30, 1918: Chicago stockyard workers win 8-hour day.
March 30, 2020: GE workers demand Lynn factory convert to make ventilators.
March 31, 1994: French students celebrate defeat of plan for wages for young workers.
March 31, 2020: Whole Foods workers strike for hazardous duty pay.
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Martian Pancakes for Earthlings
By SARAH RINGLER
This pancake is so green, it almost glows. It’s made from spinach, zucchini and Napa cabbage, so it’s no surprise. Although the vegetables don’t impart a lot of flavor, sweet pickled ginger and the seaside aroma of dashi stock do. The recipe is adapted from one by Kay Chun in the New York Times.
Most cultures have some kind of pancake and these ones, called okonomiyaki, are Japanese. Fillled with vegetables they are good hot or cold. Okonomiyaki, in its many forms, is portable which makes it a common street food.
This version is more like an omelet than a pancake. You pour the batter onto the frying pan and then evenly arrange the vegetables around the egg batter. The trick is to make sure that the pan is hot enough so the eggs don’t stick. Like Goldilock’s predicament, it can’t be too hot or too cold.
Since all stoves are different, I recommend putting the pan on medium to medium heat. Splash a quarter teaspoon of water on the pan. If it steams, turn up the heat. If the water jumps and quickly disappears, the pan is too hot. It is an art to find the right temperature to cook eggs and many dishes have been ruined and sacrificed in this pursuit. In this recipe, as soon as the batter is added and the vegetables are spread out, the heat is lowered so the vegetables can cook.
Although I’m fine with pouring soy sauce on my okonomiyaki, Kay Chun suggests decorating yours with Kewpie mayonnaise and a special sauce. I included a recipe for a sauce below from Holly Cole at Okonomiyaki World, finedininglovers.com. I have never heard of Kewpie mayonnaise but it is reputed to be a popular Japanese mayonnaise made with high quality apple and malt vinegars and other special ingredients. It was developed in 1925 by Tochiro Nakashima who wanted to invent a dip to make eating vegetable more enjoyable. You can find Kewpie mayonnaise at Rachelle's Asian store at 28 2nd St. in Watsonville. Dashi powder is available at Staff of Life in Santa Cruz and Watsonville.
Pancakes:
1 teaspoon instant dashi powder, such as Hondashi, optional
1 cup water
2 large eggs
¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
10 ounces Napa cabbage, finely shredded (about 4 cups)
1 medium zucchini (6 ounces), grated on the large holes of a box grater and squeezed dry
2 ounces baby spinach (2 packed cups), coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons drained and chopped pickled red sushi ginger
¼ cup safflower or canola oil
Optional toppings: Okonomiyaki sauce, Kewpie mayo and shredded nori
Okonomiyaki sauce:
3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
This makes about 2-4 pancakes, enough for two people. Wash and dry vegetables. Grate zucchini, shred cabbage and chop spinach.
In a large bowl, whisk 1 cup water with dashi powder until dissolved. Or, just use water. Whisk in eggs and mix well. Then, add flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and whisk until smooth. Fold in and mix cabbage, zucchini, spinach and ginger.
In an 8-inch skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add enough batter to fill the bottom of the pan. Spread the cabbage mixture into an even 6-inch round about 1-inch-thick. Avoid the urge to push down on the cabbage.
Lower the heat to medium low and cook until the pancake is set and golden brown underneath, 8 to 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low and carefully flip the pancake. Cook until golden brown on second side and cooked through in center, in about 8 minutes. Flip pancake onto a fresh large plate. Wipe out skillet and repeat with remaining oil and batter.
Mix sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Drizzle pancakes with okonomiyaki sauce, Kewpie mayo and nori. Serve.
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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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