Photo by MELISSA TAO
This container of urine with a terrible message was left on the car windshield of a local resident in Live Oak in April.
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Anti-Asian Threats in Live Oak
By MARCIA HASHIMOTO
In the month of April, 2021, three anti-Asian threats have been reported in Santa Cruz County.
Our Watsonville-Santa Cruz Japanese American Citizens League chapter member, Melissa Tao, reported a disturbing and disgusting incident that has traumatically shaken her feelings of being safe and secure in our small community.
On behalf of our chapter, I have reached out in support of Melissa and thanked her for having the strength and courage to report the derogatory message left on her car windshield in Live Oak township.
Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s office detectives have jurisdiction in that area and are looking into Melissa’s case and are also looking into anti-Asian comments that have been written on the bathroom stall walls at the Scotts Valley Walgreen store on Mount Herman Road.
It was reported that Opal Spa and Boutique, owned by the Nguyens and located on 41st Avenue in Capitola had been vandalized twice in three weeks with windows and a glass door shattered. This is being investigated as a potential hate crime but that has not been concluded because there were no racial written remarks or racial references.
Please be cautiously aware of your surroundings. If you need support, please email Mas Hashimoto or call Marcia Hashimoto 831-722-6859 and leave a message and your telephone number.
Our thanks to the county’s NAACP for extending their support to our W-SC JACL.
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Reel Work Labor Film Festival - Why Unions Still Matter
By SARAH RINGLER
This week's film festival presents the history, work and dedication of the Union of International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts, IATSE. These are the people behind and in front of the stage who provide lighting, audio, video, camera, rigging, carpentry, makeup, wardrobe, grips, props and more to theater, music, sports, motion picture, conventions and other productions in our area. The event is hosted by IATSE Local 611 of Santa Cruz, Monterery and San Benito counties, and has been active for almost 100 years, since 1926.
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Local NAACP and Black Coalition Present May 25 event to commemorate George Floyd
By JANE SOOBY - Interim Secretary
The Santa Cruz County Chapter of the NAACP and the Santa Cruz County Black Coalition for Justice & Racial Equity invite the community to join a peaceful, socially distanced gathering to mark the 1-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder by Minneapolis police.
The gathering will be held Tues., May 25, 6:30pm at the steps of the Santa Cruz Courthouse, 701 Ocean St., Santa Cruz.
The event will feature speakers, spoken word, dance, music, and poetry. For information, call (831) 429-2266 or send an email.
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"...any serious interrogation of the history of Black life in the United States upends all notions of American exceptionalism."
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
A young fledgling Great Horned Owl sits quietly on the branch of a dead tree in Arana Gulch last Friday evening.
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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. As of May 20, there were 16,275 cases that tested positive. With only 11 new cases, that is essentially a 0% increase from the previous week. There were no new deaths. There were no changes in all the categories.
Santa Cruz County moved into the Yellow Tier on May 19. For information, go here.
The county's Effective Reproductive Number is staying 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 tested without a doctor’s request, call 1-888-634-1123 or go online at https://lhi.care/covidtesting. Other testing sites that may have restricted access can be found here.
For vaccine information in Santa Cruz County, click here.
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% deaths by ethnicity/% of population:
White - 55%/58%
Latinx - 36%/34%
Black - 0/1%
Asian - 7%/4%
American Native - 0.5%/not available
% deaths by gender/% of population:
Female - 51%/50%
Male - 49%/50%
Other - 0
Under Investigation - 0
Deaths by age/202:
30-39 - 2%
40-49 - 3%
50-59 - 2%
60-69 - 13%
70-79 - 21%
80-89 - 31%
90+ - 27%
Tested positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 21%/12%
North county - 20%/60%
South county - 58%/29%
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%
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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%
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%
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Labor History Calendar for May 15-21:
May 21, 1946: US government seizes coal mines to break a national strike.
May 22, 1911: Trolleymen return to work after 10-day strike defending fired union activists. Citywide general strike wins all demands on May 25 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
May 23, 1838: 4,000 Cherokee die in "Trail of Tears" forced removal
May 23, 1937: Memorial Day Massacre at Chicago's Republic Steel plant; cops kill 10, wound 30.
May 24, 1819: Poet, Walt Whitman born
May 24, 1921: Sacco and Vanzetti's trial begins.
May 25, 1962: AFL-CIO launches campaign for the 35-hour week.
May 26, 1937: Battle of the Overpass - Ford thugs beat UAW organizers.
May 26, 1952: AFL-CIO goons oust radical Textile Worker officials in Montreal, Quebec.
May 27, 1980: 3,000 killed in Kwangju, Korea uprising.
May 27, 2011: Hundreds of police clear Indignados from the Plaza de Catalunya, Barcelona; it was quickly reoccupied.
May 28, 1871: Paris Commune crushed; 25,000 massacred.
May 28, 1946: Rochester, NY, general strike
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Bakery Crinkle Citrus Cookies
By SARAH RINGLER
Bakeries have been the center of neighborhoods and communities for thousands of years, selling Indian chapatis, Arabian pita, French baguettes, Chinese steamed buns, Mexican pan dulce, Ethiopian injera, San Francisco sourdough, and more. In the past, even though most of community liked bread, only a few individuals could build and maintain an oven in their home. Along with the oven, you needed grain ground into flour and someone who was prepared to get up at ungodly hours to heat the oven and bake the bread so it would be ready for the public as the sun rose. My husband, Tarmo, baked bagels at the downtown Bagelry in Santa Cruz for several years so I got to live the experience of the baker’s wife as he got up at 3 am to go to work, and I rolled over in bed to enjoy the warm expanse of his vacated space.
This week’s recipe is for the kind of rich and sugary cookies you find in bakeries. They are quick to make, but make sure that your butter is at room temperature. If the butter is too soft, the cookies will spread too much, and if it’s not soft enough, the cookies don’t spread. As you can see from the photo, mine should have spread a bit more. Also, these cookies are very light colored so it’s a good idea at the half way point while they are baking, to turn the tray around in the oven. After that, check them near the time so they don’t turn brown.
The recipe is from the website laurenslatest.com. Lauren advertises herself as a Pro Recipe Developer from New York City, a place where it seems they have job titles like that. Her recipe was for lemon cookies, but oranges and limes also work.
Citrus and sugar blend a pleasant sweet and sour flavor. Citrus plants are tropical and native to southeast Asia from the Himalayas southeast to Australia. Luckily, they have been hybridized into sweet and sour varieties that can grow around the world, even in our area.
½ cups butter, softened to room temperature
1 whole egg
2 teaspoons lemon, orange or lime zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon, orange or lime juice
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter baking sheets or cover with parchment paper.
In a bowl, sift or whisk flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
In a large bowl, cream room temperature butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add vanilla, egg, lemon zest and juice and beat smooth. Scrape sides and beat again.
Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. Scrape sides of the bowl and mix again briefly.
Pour powdered sugar onto a rimmed plate. Roll a heaping teaspoon of dough into a ball and roll in powdered sugar. Place on the baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
Bake for 9-11 minutes or until bottoms begin to barely brown. At the half way point, turn the tray around. When cookies are done, remove from oven and cool cookies about 3 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
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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.
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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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