Next Issue Aug. 18

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County provided Narcan and Fentanyl Test Strips to the public at the Juneteenth March and Rally at Santa Cruz City Hall, June 19.

Update on HRCSCC Pending Lawsuits

By DENISE ELERICK 

As many of you know, Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County was sued in December 2020. HRCSCC, the California Department of Public Health and Denise Elerick were sued on two claims: one, that the state violated California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) in authorizing HRCSCC, and two, that HRCSCC and Denise Elerick are a "public nuisance."

Great news! In December 2021 the court dismissed the CEQA lawsuit entirely. You can read the final ruling here. The final statement sums up the entirety of the suit. "The burden is not on the Department or the Coalition to demonstrate the Coalition is capable of providing all required services. Instead, the burden is on Petitioners to demonstrate - by citation to the administrative record - that the Department abused its discretion in concluding otherwise. With their brief argument on this issue, and with no citation to the administrative record, Petitioners do not come close to meeting their burden."

The state legislature passed AB 1344 which has put an end to filing lawsuits to close programs misusing CEQA due to the predominance of lawsuits against Harm Reduction Programs. The public nuisance case is separate and is still looming over HRCSCC and Denise Elerick.

Not great news! In January 2022, petitioners filed an appeal. The appeal is submitted to the 3rd District court of appeals in Sacramento. During this time, nothing has changed in our operations. 

Who is suing us? Former Santa Cruz Mayor David Terrazas is the lead attorney from Brereton law group. David appears obsessed with HRCSCC and our work. He partnered with an attorney in Nevada County named Walt McNeil who had successfully closed programs. Gabrielle Korte is an attorney with Brereton law group. She is also an "executive committee" member of Take Back Santa Cruz and has gone on record opposing syringe programs. 

The plaintiffs include former Santa Cruz Police Chief Kevin Vogel, current Santa Cruz Council member Renee Golder, the so-called Grant Street Park Neighborhood Advocates, Melissa Freebairn and Johnny Font. 

In parts of California, the anti-harm reduction groups have been connected, resourced and very organized. Santa Ana, Humboldt area, Placer County and Lake County are all facing similar pressures. We need to defeat this obstructionist lawsuit to stay in operation and to demonstrate that we are equally organized and resourced in this fight. We believe their tactic is to exhaust our time and resources to bully us into quitting. This will not happen.

We will be in court on July 24 to make our case in front of the appeal panel.

Our opposition has been very busy behind the scenes. Unbeknownst to us, there was a coordinated effort to file an amicus curiae in support of the appeal. An amicus can be filed by parties close to or directly affected by a lawsuit that can be in support or in opposition. 

Prior to the departure of Ryan Coonerty, the Board of Supervisors filed an amicus as did the City of Santa Cruz, City of Watsonville and City of Scotts Valley. All five Supervisors at the time voted in support of the amicus. (Current Supervisor Justin Cummings proudly supports HRCSCC.) All city council members, with the exception of Sandy Brown, voted in support as well. Renee Golder recused herself as she is a plaintiff. In addition, the California Police Chiefs Association, the California Peace Officers Association,  the California State Sheriffs' Association, the League of California Cities and the Butte County Board of Supervisors also filed an amicus in support of the appeal. The amicus seems to be focused on the definition of the word "consultation." 

This is what happens when politicians take to back rooms to make decisions without any discussion from the community. As frustrated as we at HRCSCC are, we will not be deterred. 

In opposition to this recent tactic, the Democratic Central Committee of Santa Cruz County sent a letter to all jurisdictions voicing continued support for HRCSCC and voicing discontent at the political game playing during multiple overlying crises - one of the highest rates of fatal overdose in California, and the increasing cases of HIV and STI's. We deeply appreciate the support of the Democratic Central Committee. We must hold our democratic leaders accountable when they take actions that can result in death and increasingly preventable infections in our community. 

To quote the lovely speakers at the March for Courage and Justice rally on Juneteenth, "We do not wait for local government." In times of crisis direct action and mutual aid groups have responded to floods, homelessness, and the spread of preventable infections and deaths. Rest assured we are not wavering. 

If you don't know Sandy Brown let us introduce you. Sandy is the lone City Council member among Santa Cruz, Scotts Valley and Watsonville, who stood up for science, data, evidence-based services, and would not acquiesce to a political game of harassment of HRCSCC. Sandy uses her voice and her vote, even when she stands alone. 

We have compiled a list of email contacts.You can use this contact list to take a few minutes to send a personal email to the board of supervisors as well as city council members and mayors. Although there is not enough time to withdraw the amicus, it is still useful that our public servants hear from their constituents via email or at public comment once meetings resume after July hiatus. 

Thank you to our donors. We are almost half way to our goal of 23 sustainer donors for 2023! The ongoing support is greatly appreciated and a significant part of our continued efforts to grow and improve access to life saving connection, supplies and resources for all. Your donation is matched 100%.

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

By SARAH RINGLER

Photo CONTRIBUTED

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 that atomic weapons were used in war. Many more people died in Japan years after from the effects of acute radiation syndrome. Others suffered birth and brain defects or died of cancer.

The event includes the annual cleaning and polishing of the Collateral Damage statue (photo above) in honor of the many civilans who have died in war and are under nuclear threat. You are invited to help and cleaning supplies will be available.

Well-known labor and activist musician Jimmy Kelly will also be performing.

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, wine, eat good food, celebrate life, and besides, it will also be Adam's birthday. You may reserve seats here bit.ly/evwevents.

Risks and Opportunities for the Rail & Trail Projects

By FAINA SEGAL

It's summer and a great time to get out and stroll or bike on the completed West Side Rail Trail. Then take a minute to check out the ongoing trail construction from Bay and California to the wharf. When it's finished, we'll have four and a half miles of protected biking and walking trail all the way from the Boardwalk to Wilder Ranch!

Farther east there could be trouble brewing for the Rail Trail from Santa Cruz to Live Oak. A complicated three-way tangle of political responsibilities mean that the Segments 8 and 9 Rail Trail project has to be signed off by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. See the map above.

The 2024 Supervisorial Election presents both a risk and an opportunity for any Rail Trail projects in unincorporated Santa Cruz County. The five-person County Board of Supervisors has executive, legislative, and even some judicial power in the unincorporated county. This means that the Board of Supervisors has power over any Rail Trail projects outside of the incorporated cities of Watsonville, Capitola, and Santa Cruz.

One example is the combined Segments 8 and 9 project. This project is politically complicated because while the right of way is owned by the Regional Transportation Commission, this trail project starts in the city of Santa Cruz at the Municipal Wharf, and then crosses into the unincorporated county at the Yacht Harbor ending at 17th Ave in Live Oak. This means that the Santa Cruz City Council, the Regional Transportation Commission, and the County Board of Supervisors will all need to sign off on a formal Cooperation Agreement in order to move the project forward.

The City of Santa Cruz is a strong supporter and is the lead agency for the project. On the Regional Transportation Commission, support for the project outweighs opposition. But the five-person County Board of Supervisors is a place where opponents have the potential to put a wrench into the works.

Three out of the currently-sitting five members of the Board have expressed varying degrees of opposition to the Rail Trail in the past: Manu Koenig, Bruce McPherson, and Zach Friend. Because Supervisor Friend's home is near the tracks he must recuse himself at the Board of Supervisor’s on this issue, but he has appointed former Greenway Board Member Robert Quinn to vote as his alternate on the RTC. Read the full blog post here...

Here are some way you can help make the Rail & Trail a reality by getting involved today:

Sign up for our newsletter 

Donate to Friends of the Rail & Trail today

Join our amazing crew of volunteers!

From "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak

The "Wooly Bully" Defense

By WOODY REHANEK

Disgraced QAnon shaman Jacob Chansley 

missed a potential defense tactic

when he took the stand in the courtroom:

He could have used the "Wooly Bully"

defense. As a child, he had surely heard

Sam the Sham & the Pharoahs' song. It 

begins prophetically, "Matty told Hatty 

about a thing she saw/Had two big horns 

and a wooly jaw." This song penetrated

the airwaves in 1965, and became the

hallmark of indecipherable gobbledygook 

for years. Jake Angeli (Jacob's stage

name) was most likely exposed to it

in utero, as an impressionable child,

& as a teenager...potentially life-

changing experiences. Through repeated

exposures to the song, Jake became

Wooly Bully personified. Thoroughly 

indoctrinated, Jake was among the first

 to break into the Capitol on January 6th,

clearly a victim of modern pop culture.

 Dan White had had his Twinkies defense. 

Jake could have done the Wooly Bully.

Instead, he got forty-one months in prison.

************

Photo by TARMO HANNULA 

A cow bird stands on the back of a cow in Arana Gulch in Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz County Covid-19 Report - Fifth 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 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 at the Lani for District 1 Supervisor fundraiser at Forty Theives Picnic area at DeLaveaga Park, June 11.

Labor History Calendar - July 21-Aug. 17, 2023

a.k.a Know Our History Lest We Forget

July 21, 1878: Publication of “Eight Hours,” most popular labor song until “Solidarity Forever.”

July 21, 1964: IWW blueberry pickers strike begins near Grand Junction, Michigan.

July 21, 1978: Wildcat postal strike begins in Jersey City for safety and right to strike.

July 22, 1877: General strike in St. Louis.

July 22, 1917: IWW and Casa del Obrero Mundial-sponsored general strike closes Tampico, Mexico oil industry.

July 23, 1934: Sacramento police arrest farmworkers. 

July 24, 2019: General strike protest topple Puerto Rican governor.

July 25, 1867: Das Kapital published. 

July 25, 1890: New York garment workers win closed shop and firing of scabs after 7-month strike.

July 25, 1987: Firings break US Postal strike.

July 26, 1877: 30 workers killed at the “Battle of the Viaduct” by Federal troops in Chicago.

July 26, 1912: Battle of Mucklow, West Virginia, in coal strike.

July 27, 1913: 20,000 Barcelona textile workers, mostly women, strike for shorter hours. Win 60-hour week in September.

July 27, 1918: Goon shoots Mine Mill (former WFM) union organizer Ginger Goodwin in Cumberland, BC.

July 27, 2022 UK train workers have 1-day strike.

July 28, 1989: Women shoemakers in Lynn, Massachusetts demand equal pay.

July 28, 1992: Volkswagen locks out 14,000 workers in bid to break union in Puebla, Mexico.

July 29, 1970: United Farm Workers win grape strike contract after five-year strike. 

July 29, 2010: Jail blockade forces sheriff to postpone immigrant raids in Phoenix. 

July 29, 2013: Fast food workers strike for living wage in seven US cities. 

July 29, 2019: Unpaid Kentucky miners blockade train hauling their coal.

July 30, 2010: Four days of riots protest new Bangladeshi minimum wage of $43/month; 4,000 workers arrested. 

July 31, 1909: Government crushes general strike, kills hundreds in Barcelona, Spain.

July 31, 1978: Italy general strike vs. fascism.

August 1, 1910: Miners locked out at South Wales’ Cambrian Combine pit; troops deployed against picketers. 

Aug. 1, 1912: San Pedro longshore strike defeated, several IWWs blacklisted. 

Aug. 1, 1917: IWW organizer Frank Little lynched in Butte, Montana.

Aug. 2, 1910: Green Corn Rebellion, multi-ethnic revolt against World War 1 in Oklahoma.

Aug. 2, 1918: Vancouver general strike protests police murder of union organizer Ginger Goodwin.

Aug. 2, 2010: Bangladeshi garment factories reopen after crushing living wage rebellion.

Aug. 3, 1913: IWW Wheatland Hop strike: sheriff shot while breaking up strike meeting resulting in framing of Ford and Suhr. 

Aug. 3, 1981: US air traffic controllers, PATCO, strike begins. 

Aug. 3, 2017: Jakarta longshoremen strike.

Aug. 3, 2022: NLRB orders miners to pay bosses $13 million for strike costs.

Aug. 4, 1909: Swedish general strike against “right to work” contracts.

Aug. 4, 1997: 15-day UPS strike begins. 

Aug. 5, 1929: Start of 2-day strike by Transylvanian coal miners for 8-hour day and end to child labor. Crushed when troops open fire killing two.

Aug. 6, 1945: Hiroshima Japan A-bombed by the US.

Aug. 6, 2017: Death of farmworker forced to stay on the job until he collapsed sparks strike of immigrant blueberry pickers in Sumas, Washington.

Aug. 7, 1890: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, IWW organizer, born.

Aug. 7, 1931: IWW strike begins at Boulder Canyon Project, Utah.

Aug. 8, 1845: UK Enclosure Act privatizes common lands.

Aug. 8, 1903: Cripple Creek, Colorado miners’ strike begins.

Aug. 8, 1903: 700,000 public workers hold one-day sit-in strike across Turkey.

Aug. 8, 2019: 80 part-time Amazon warehouse workers strike in Egan, Minn.

Aug. 9, 1890: Knights of labor strike New York Central railroad, defeated by union scabbing.

Aug. 9, 1945: Nagasaki A-bombed by US. 

Aug. 9, 2021: China says it will fire members of the Hong Kong Professional Teachers’ Union, forcing the union to dissolve. 

Aug. 10, 1914: Australian IWW run front page declaring “War! What for?....... War is hell? Send the capitalists to hell and wars are impossible.” 

Aug. 11, 1833: Robert Ingersoll, nicknamed the “Great Agnostic” born.

Aug. 11, 1894:Troops drive 1,200 in Kelley’s Army of unemployed from Washington DC; Jack London and Big Bill Haywood among the deported. 

Aug. 12, 1898: Coal company thugs kill 7, wound 40 miners trying to stop scabs in Virden, Illinois.

Aug. 12, 2017: Labor activist Heather Heyer murdered while protesting fascist march in Charlottesville, Virginia.  

Aug. 12, 2017: 17,000 textile workers strike over missing pay and COLA in Mahalla al-Kubra, Egypt.

Aug. 13, 1889: London Dock Workers’ Strike begins.

Aug. 13, 1966: Uprising in Watts, California.

Aug. 14, 1935: US Social Security Act signed.

Aug. 14, 2015: General Strike as Greek parliament votes for more austerity.

Aug. 15, 1867: London dockworkers strike for higher pay and shorter hours. 

Aug. 15, 1963: 170 women sit-in to protest employment discrimination by bank in St. Louis, Illinois. 

Aug. 16, 1920: Chicago Central Labor Union votes for general strike, if needed, to block the war with Russia.

Aug. 16, 1912: South African police kill 34 striking Marikana miners. 

Aug. 17, 1918: IWW War Trials in Chicago; 95 go to prison for up to 20 years.

Aug. 17, 1985: Hormel meatpackers’ strike begins in Austin, Minnesota.

Aug. 17. 2011: “Guest” worker who bought jobs for thousands of dollars begin sit-in strike at Hershey’s chocolates.

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

"History is a tragedy, not a

morality tale."

Christopher Hitchens

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Little Rice Sculptures - Onigiri

By SARAH RINGLER

Onigiri are little sculptures that exemplify art meeting food. They are like gifts with surprise fillings, wrapped in a rice package, and in this version, adorned with a rich and sweet tahini sauce called goma. The ingredients are a perfect mixture of textures and flavors from the sticky rice to the rich tahini-based topping. This recipe, from asianfoodgrocer.com, calls for a silky spinach center.

Onigiri are portable, make a quick meal and are commonly sold in convenience stores around Japan. In the 11th century, they were eaten at picnics according to the diary of the famous novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting, Murasaki Shikibu, famous for her classic book “The Tale of Genji.” On the battlefront, samurai stored rice balls in thick, dried bamboo stalks and before chopsticks became widely used in the 700s ACE, rice rolled into little balls was the main way it was eaten according to Wikipedia. 

The tiny sesame seed, goma in Japanese, plays a big role in this recipe from the sauce made of ground sesame seeds and toasted sesame oil, to the sprinkles of black sesame seeds on the top.  Traveling one time in Korea, we had a nice morning surprise at a small hotel in Buyeo when it turned out to have a toasted sesame oil factory below our room. It was so pleasant waking up to the warm, fragrant smells of what has to be, one of most remarkable flavors and scents of all cuisines worldwide.

I added a bare bones recipe for sunomono, cucumber salad, because it goes so well with the onigiri. You will need to speak to someone more knowledgeable than I to get a better recipe and find out what that special touch is. 

Spinach Onigiri

Rice: 

1 cup Japanese short grain white rice

1 cup water

Kosher salt for later 

or, two cups cooked rice

Filling: 

1 bunch spinach, washed, dried and stems cut off 

Water 

Goma or sesame sauce: 

2 tablespoons tahini 

1 tablespoon sugar (plus a dash or two) 

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil 

1 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar 

1 1/2 teaspoons ginger, crushed

1/2 clove garlic, pressed

1/4 teaspoon chili sauce 

Sweet paprika 

Salt (to taste) 

Topping: 

Black sesame seeds 

Put 1 cup rice in a medium bowl and add enough water to cover it with an inch of water. Stir the rice and loosen the powdery rice starch. Tilt the bowl and drain the rice. Cover with water and drain again until the water is no longer cloudy. Add the rice and 1 cup water to a saucepan that has a tight-fitting lid. Bring to a boil uncovered, then cover, reduce the heat to low and cook until the rice is absorbed in about 20 minutes. Set aside and keep warm while preparing the spinach and Goma sauce. 

While the rice is cooking, combine ingredients for goma sauce in a small dish. Mix until creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings until perfect for your taste buds.

Wash, dry and trim off the stems of the spinach. Bring a pot with about 1 inch of water to a boil. Add the spinach and cook until it is silky. Drain. 

When spinach is cooled, chop and combine with enough Goma sauce to make a delicious filling but not enough to overwhelm the spinach. Save the rest for topping the onigiri.

Set up an area where you are going to construct the onigiri. Use an 8-inch square of plastic wrap or a plastic bag. Lightly flatten out about a fourth of a cup of rice onto the plastic wrap. Sprinkle the rice with some kosher salt, put about 1/6 of the filling on top of the rice and cover with a light layer of rice. Bring the edges of the plastic wrap together and press between the hands to form a triangle with the filling neatly enclosed inside.

Put a dab of goma sauce in the center of the triangle and sprinkle with black sesame seeds to serve. Makes about six. 

Sunomono - Cucumber Salad

3 Japanese or 4 Persian cucumbers 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon sugar 

1/4 teaspoon soy sauce 

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

Slice cucumbers as thin as you can and put them in a bowl. Stir in salt, and let sit for 5 minutes. Squeeze water out from cucumbers. In a small bowl, mix rice vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce together until sugar dissolves. Add vinegar mixture and sesame seeds to prepared cucumbers and mix well. 

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. 

Copyright © 2023 Sarah Ringler - All rights reserved