Talk on El Salvador By Vidalina Morales

By ALLAN FISHER

Vidalina Morales is an international advocate for human and environmental rights who currently serves as president of the Association of Economic and Social Development, (ADES), based in Cabañas in northern El Salvador. She was a key leader in a 14-year campaign that made El Salvador the first nation on earth to ban metals mining to save its rivers. 

In addition to its work to end mining, ADES has been central to the spread of organic agriculture in El Salvador, a leader in the struggle against water privatization, and at the cutting edge of community organizing to counter violence and advance women's rights. Morales has been at the forefront of the campaign to drop fraudulent charges against five prominent "water defenders," including ADES Director Antonio Pacheco, who were arrested by the Bukele government in January 2023. Thanks to the constant organizing of the community and international solidarity allies, the water defenders were transferred to house arrest in September after eight months of unjust detention. She is an inspiring and powerful speaker with extensive experience building international solidarity in a global struggle to protect people and the planet from corporate greed.

Hear Vidalina Morales speak on Sunday, Oct. 8 from 2 to 4pm at 14 Pera Drive, Watsonville, CA. English translation provided. Call Allan at 415-954-2763 or German at 831-234-6559 for info or directions to the house. See poster below.

Rally - Calling on Diplomacy Not War in Ukraine

By SANTA CRUZ PEACE

Enough with this bloodshed. Troop Deaths and Injuries in Ukraine War Near 500,000, U.S. Officials Say - Washington Post - Aug. 18, 2023

While the Biden Administration continues to provide longer range weapons to Ukraine, many in America are expressing anger that they are going without food and housing. The Wall Street Journal reported that there was an 11% increase in people becoming homeless in the first eight months of this year compared to 2022. US Census reports child poverty in the United States more than doubled in 2023 from 2022.

A nuclear conflict grows more likely as NATO troops directly enter the Ukraine war and daily drone attacks on Moscow increase. It is time for a ceasefire and negotiations. https://www.santacruzpeace.org/

Town Hall Meeting on Last Year's Lithium Ion Battery Fire at Moss Landing

By SARAH RINGLER

In response to the concerns from Moss Landing and the surrounding community about three incidents of thermal runaway over the last 2 years, the County of Monterey held a town hall meeting at the North County Recreation Center in Castroville, last week on Sept. 20. Exactly a year before that day at 6:59 am, six months after a Feb. 14 incident, Hwy. 1 was closed for around twelve hours when batteries at the Moss Landing Lithium Ion Battery Energy Storage System overheated. Smoke poured over the area that was visible from Watsonville. Commuters and others traveling the Santa Cruz to Monterey corridor were stuck in traffic. Residents were issued shelter-in-place orders and told to shut all windows and doors. 

Moss Landing has provided power to the region since 1948 and in the 70s, it was the second largest power plant in the world. At the time, it produced more power than all the power plants in Los Angeles according to Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church. In the late 1940s, the area was zoned “heavy industry and coastal dependency” as it still is today. 

Moss Landing currently has two natural gas units and three battery storage projects. The stacks are no longer being used but are not scheduled to be torn down. There is some demolition being done in two of the units as old 2-feet thick turbines from the 1960s are dismantled according to Brad Watson of Vistra Energy Corporation, a Fortune 500 company out of Texas. That demolition should be completed by the end of May.

Responsive to the needs to produce more and hopefully cleaner energy, a proposal was presented to Monterey County in 2019 to increase the area’s power supply by adding lithium-ion battery storage systems that could store and distribute power. Building the battery storage system was approved by the California Public Utilities Commission in Nov. 2018 and the Monterey Planning Commission in July 2020. According to Craig Spencer, Chief of Planning for Monterey County, no EIR was done nor was there Coastal Commission approval. A Negative Declaration was issued meaning that nothing of danger was predicted. Both agencies were notified of the project’s plans and neither appealed. PG&E investigated the new plan’s risks to the Monterey Bay and found that located at 30 feet above sea level, there were no dangers despite that according to the California Department of Conservation, it is in a Tsunami Hazard Area.

The Elkhorn Battery system is designed, constructed and maintained by both PG&E and Tesla, but owned and operated by PG&E according to James Herrera of the Monterey Herald. It is one of the largest utility-owned lithium-ion battery energy storage systems in the world. 

Today the Moss Landing Power Plant has two natural gas units and three battery storage systems. The first two battery units, Phase 1 and 2, are operated by Vistra Energy Corporation and were commissioned in 2021. Vistra’s 400-megawatt batteries are contained in two buildings and use LG Energy Solution batteries. There has been two thermal runaways; Phase 1 area overheated, Sept. 4, 2021 and triggered the sprinkler system. North Monterey County Fire came on the scene and the area was shut down until an investigation was held. Again on Feb.14, 2022, another fire alarm was triggered and the North County Fire Department found about ten melted battery packs. 

The event that provoked this meeting in Castroville, was fire at the 182.5-megawatt Tesla Megapack, part of Phase 3 that was commissioned Apr. 7, 2022 and is PG&E’s largest storage facility. It is maintained by both PG&E and Tesla, is owned and operated by PG&E, and provides power for 250,000 homes. 

One of the 256 power units caught fire on Sept. 20. According to Dave Gabard from PG&E; the vent shield in a megapack had been incorrectly installed causing thermal runaway from a water leak. It turned out that 88 other megapacks needed to be repaired. Tesla modified the units and the alarms. Hydrogen chloride and carbon monoxide were released in the smoke. Catch basins collected the water so it did not go into the sloughs or bay. The system was shut down and Hwy. 1 was closed for 12 hours and a “shelter in place order” was issued by county officials. 

The life span of the batteries is 20 years but every year seven new batteries will be replaced. Under a contract with Tesla, used batteries will be disposed of and recycled at Life Cycle, out of Phoenix, AZ. There are currently Tesla staff at the site 24 hours.

Over 100 people attended that Town Hall and more, like me, watched it on Youtube. The meeting was organized with speakers from Vistra Energy Corporation, PG&E, Monterey County Health and Department of Emergency Management and two California elected officials. Public comment was limited to selected submitted written comments, not the best way to gauge community sentiment or get input. 

One speaker, Chief of North Monterey County Fire Joel Mendoza who had been involved in all three thermal runaways, emphasized the need for a unified command, evacuation plans, shelter in place guidelines, better communication with the community and a “plume model,” a projection of where smoke travels which had been asked for before this incident and never received. Vistra and PG&E had referred to only two events but Mendoza emphasized that there had been three. Since the events, PG&E now has workers on site 24 hours a day, a draft of a plume model was submitted and there have been several trainings so first responders are more familiar with the area and better prepared for emergencies. 

State Senator John Laird and State Assemblyperson Dawn Addis also spoke. Coincidentally, Laird was driving to Monterey for a meeting on Sept. 30, 2022 and got caught in the highway closure. He supports battery pack storage and gave it credit for producing more power than previously during one of our recent hot spells. He emphasized the need for safety and emergency action plans and said he introduced SB38 to that end. It passed unanimously and is waiting for Governor Newsom’s signature. Addis is out of Morro Bay where building a similar battery pack storage facility is being considered for that town. She reported that many in the Morro Bay community are concerned about safety issues and visuals from having a power plant by their scenic bay.

Vistra, PG&E and county officials, who had the most to answer for, were mostly responsive. They said frequently, ”There has been a lot of learning from this event” and used the following terms “protecting, detecting and mitigating” and “robust emergency response plan.” As well as plans to go to Morro Bay, Vistra also has plans to go to Illinois. I got the sense that the initial enthusiasm for installing these battery packs superseded the considerations for safety and the environment. But, no one was injured in these events and Craig Spencer assured the audience that contaminated water and soil were disposed of responsibly. 

You may watch the Moss Landing BESS Community Meeting on Youtube. Also, contact and encourage Governor Newsom as soon as possible, to sign SB38 to ensure that safety and emergency plans are part of battery pack storage facilities.

Moss Landing Artist Opens Her Art Home

By NANCY RUSSELL

I will be participating in the Monterey County Open Artists Studio tour again this year. There will be many paintings and lots of cards. You will be welcome in my studio and my house. There are also many new additions in my yard. My house is also my art.

Sept. 30, Oct. 1, 7 and 8 from 11-5pm, come by. My address is 10942 Pieri Court, Moss Landing. Please tell your friends and come if you are able.

Like Dolores Always Said

By WOODY REHANEK

Strands of fog quilt a quicksilver sea

from the Magdalena Hills to the golden beach

it's a good day to thrive, take your time

licking your wounds you'll land on your feet.

Sally's a China doll delicate in her dying

white porcelain figurine

you can't hear her crying

seafog vodka, dimestore stuff

Homeless John @ Rio del Mar

Vega 25 lightyears afar

we draw strength from blue collar

people: farmworkers, caregivers, caretakers

of Earth on Silver Creek & Blossom Hill Rd.

the hereafter's not far from Great Oaks Blvd

a joyride shortcut to paradise.

Hurricane Harvey, circle your wagons

if you can only line dance.

One-eyed Jack's blind-sided

by the Queen of Hearts.

Never draw to an inside straight

play your hand in time & space

most rhymes will wait till tomorrow

never met a yellow lab I didn't like

aces high, jokers wild

things come in spades

read 'em & weep,

nothing to prove & nothing to lose.

Sally knew a thing or 2

about our plastic brains

she said they rewire even if maimed

but maybe she mentioned life itself

no one knew for sure

the heat bakes on authentic gold enamel

with September grasshopper wings

lengthening shadows, autumn avenues.

When the dust settles

in the valley of shadows

it's a good day to thrive

on the empty boulevards.

like Dolores always said, we take first steps

to help the salt of the earth

& like Dolores always said, 

we can break the curse

to free ourselves from dark angels within

& chemical clouds & corporate greed without.

At the corner of Moosehead & Esplanade

the old stucco 2-story Seabreeze Tavern...

Well, stone the crows! the old timers say

gutted by fire on a late spring Sunday.*

September's children on a sandstone horizon

worn away by time's slow motion:

see the cement boat, the San Jose

brokedown & skewed at an awkward angle,

sailboats anchored off Pleasure Point.

Mas o menos 30 years ago in Mazatlan

100 fishermen were swept away 

in the rose-tinted dawn:

the ocean swallowed them like so many

yet their widows still remember it

like it was yesterday.



******

*6-14-2020

Photos by TARMO HANNULA

Is this Santa Cruz in the future? NO!

Take action against the Santa Cruz City plan to build multiple 12-story skyscrapers with 80% to 90% unaffordable units. Over 90% of the people we talk to support the right to vote before developers go over our height limits and want to increase affordable housing to a modest 25% in large buildings. And, they sign the petition. Join our signature party and and help get 4K signatures by Oct. 8 to put this on the ballot. There's only 1 week to go.

CLICK HERE to go to HousingForPeople.org or call 831-222-0280

Photo by TARMO HANNULA 

A house finch makes a routine stop on a fence in Watsonville.

Santa Cruz County Covid-19 Report - Order Free At-Home Test Kits

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. Since cases are still appearing, and there are still vulnerable people, I will continue reporting the graphs below.

At-home Covid-19 test kits that were sent free from the government earlier are now expiring. The program that started in Jan. 2022 has distributed 600 million test kits. If you still have those tests, before using check the date on your box or go HERE to get more information. The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will provide four free tests per household that will be delivered by the US Postal Service. Go HERE to order.

The state's website reports that the current total of confirmed Covid deaths in Santa Cruz County is at 333, up from last week's 332.

The three graphs below give a picture of what is happening as of Sept. 27. 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 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 coincidentally color-coordiated woman takes a moment to check her cellphone in downtown Watsonville.

Labor History Calendar - Sept. 29- Oct. 5, 2023

a.k.a Know Our History Lest We Forget

Sept. 29, 1883: English publication Johann Most’s “Hymn of the Proletariat”

Sept. 29, 1931: RCMP fire into coal miners’ parade killing 3 in Bienfait, Sask.

Sept. 29, 2007: Tens of thousands of textile workers start illegal strike in Ghazl el-Mahalla, Egypt, and win demands. 

Sept. 30, 1911: national strike of more than 40,000 railway shopmen inspire Joe Hill’s song, “Casey Jones – The Union Scab.”

Oct. 1, LA Times building blown up; McNamara arrested.

Oct. 1, 1949: 500,000 steel workers’ strike.

Oct. 1, 1997: Pickets in solidarity with striking Liverpool dockers turn back Neptune Jade, a scab-loaded ship from Oakland’s port. 

Oct. 2, 1889: London tailors win shorter hours. 

Oct. 2, 1968: Massacre in Tlatelolco in Mexico City with 500 killed by Mexican troops.

Oct. 3, 1909: Elisabeth Gurley Flynn arrested in Missoula, Montana in free-speech fight. 

Oct. 3, 1945: Seven-state Greyhound bus strike begins. 

Oct. 4, 1887: Louisiana militia shoot 35 black strikers, lynch two.

Oct. 4, 1916: General strike against conscription in Australia.

Oct. 4, 1946: US Navy seizes oil refineries, breaking 20-state strike.

Oct. 4, 2018: “Fast Food Shutdown” strikes by food and delivery workers in the UK.

Oct. 5, 1934: 40,000 miners and iron workers strike seizing towns near Gijon, Spain; 3,000 killed.

Oct. 5, 1990: 75,000 service workers strike against austerity in Costa Rica.

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

Cipollo Pazza

By SARAH RINGLER 

This stuffed onion dish calls for fine motor skills. With anchovies, Parmesan cheese and Kalamata olives, it packs a punch. Because of that, I think that all the fussing is really worth it. Plus, they are pretty cute. The recipe appeared in the Dec. 30, 1996 issue of the San Francisco Chronicle and is from Donna Scala, who with her husband Giovanni, was chef and owner of Scala's Bistro in San Francisco and Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa. Both restaurants are still operating but Donna unfortunately died of a brain tumor on March 25, 2014. 

It helps to use large onions but I did not have good luck in finding those. Although onions are common and available year-round, I have noticed that the size and firmness varies. There are two types of market onions according to Harold McGee in his book, "On Food and Cooking." Spring, also called short-day onions, are planted in the late fall and harvested in late spring. Since they're harvested before they are fully mature, they contain more water, are milder in taste and go bad faster. McGee recommends keeping them in the refrigerator. The other kind, called the storage onion, is grown during the summer and harvested in the fall. It has more sulfur in it so it has more flavor, and also, it keeps better. It is worth the time, when purchasing them, to look them over carefully. Look for soft parts and mold.

Onions are a universal vegetable and it is thought that the first cultivated version was from central Asia. The name comes from Latin for "one" or "unity," because unlike garlic and shallots that have many bulbs, onions have only one. Although records of using onions as food go back thousands of years in China, Egypt and Persia, they also had many reputed medical uses from improving eyesight, to helping with sleep, toothaches and dog bites. In Greece, before the Olympic Games, athletes would drink onion juice, eat large amounts and rub it on their bodies. 

Cipollo Pazza, Italian stuffed onions     

6 yellow onions, the largest you can find

1/4 cup olive oil

6 garlic cloves

12 small anchovy fillets, finely chopped

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/4 cup chopped parsley with 1 tablespoon more for garnish

1/2 cup olives, Kalamata or de Provence

1 pound spaghetti

salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese, grated.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the outer skins of the onions and then cut off 3/4-inch tops. Put on a baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes until soft. Different sizes and kinds of onions will soften at varying rates so check. 

Using a spoon, scoop out the insides but leave the outside intact. Chop up the insides. Set the shells and tops aside.

Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the chopped insides of the onions and fry until they begin to brown. Add the garlic, anchovy, butter, pepper flakes, 1/4 cup parsley, and olives and thoroughly heat.

Get a large pot of salted water boiling and cook the spaghetti until tender. Drain and toss with the garlic and anchovy sauce. Season with salt and pepper. 

Put a hollowed-out onion on each plate. Fill with spaghetti mixture letting it spill over the sides. Top with Parmesan, parsley and the onion tops. 

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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