Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Prevent Fires - Bury High Risk Power Lines
By NANCY P. DAVIS of California's Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
In Governor Newsom’s recent funding proposal, a package of new bills announced recently by Senator Dodd and six other members of the Senate’s “Wildfire Working Group,” focused on preparing for fires. Proposals include clearing brush to diminish the spread of fires, formulating evacuation plans, providing insurance to farmers, and providing the staffing, training and funding to fight fires after they start.
Not a single California tax dollar is being spent on what is by far the most effective way to prevent fires, bury the highest risk overhead power lines in areas where there have been frequent fires. This could eliminate planned power shut-offs, an increasingly frequent occurrence that threaten residents in retirement, assisted-living, nursing home and private residences whose well-being and life depend on steady electricity.
I write to let you know of this grassroots campaign that a small group of us developed a month ago. If you approve of and support his effort, I'd be so grateful if you'd send this alert on to your lists and ask that they sign our petition.
We had to rewrite our regular bill proposal to turn it into a "trailer" bill, one that does not go through the regular Assembly and Senate legislative process; a "trailer" can be added to the final budget package. This "trailer" bill is already in the hands of a number of Senators and we want to get more signers on to our petition. We are working to have Sen. Henry Stern and Sen. Bill Dodd, key CA Senate members in the Wildfire Working Group, to sign on to this Trailer Bill and advocate that it be added to the fire preparedness bill package. The deadline is upon us; the Governor will be signing the budget on June 15, Tuesday.
Under existing law, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection are required to develop, implement, and administer various forest improvement and fire prevention programs in the state. This bill would appropriate the sum of $1,500,000,000 from the General Fund to the department to be used to create an urgently-needed new financing structure that would provide 2 to 1 matching funds so California utility companies could bury the 500 highest risk overhead power and transmission lines. These funds would be overseen and regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission, with risk assessments prioritized by the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection based on the location of wildfires sparked by overhead lines during the past ten years.
If passed, this bill would allow the Legislature to enact statutory changes to wildfire prevention and identify, prioritize, fund and manage, with public utility companies, the urgently-needed undergrounding of the riskiest 500 miles of overhead power lines commencing July 1, 2021. Click Here to read an excellent article in the Sonoma Independent. Please to sign our Change.Org Petition.
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2013 legislation allows buses to drive exclusively on the shoulder of highways in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, as is already done in Minneapolis, Cleveland, Miami, Chicago and Atlanta.
Relieve Traffic Congestion - Allow Buses on the Shoulders
By RICK LONGINOTTI
June 3, the Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) approved two contracts with consultants who will study an interim trail option for the rail corridor at Aptos and at the Capitola Trestle. This follows the RTC’s decision in April not to proceed with a business plan for passenger rail service on the corridor. You can read the RTC’s statement about the future of rail transit.
What does this sea-change at the RTC mean for the future of Highway 1 expansion? By recommending study of an interim trail, the RTC staff signaled that the plan to expand Highway 1 at Aptos for auxiliary lanes (exit-only lanes) may be put on indefinite hold. The “interim” bike and pedestrian trail would replace the tracks on the two old railroad bridges crossing Highway 1 in Aptos. There is no way to expand the highway at this location without replacing the rail bridges and the bridge over Aptos Creek,
Replacing rail bridges and the Aptos Creek bridge is very expensive and would require purchasing additional land for the right of way. Finding funding at the state level for the highway expansion project is questionable. State policy now recognizes that auxiliary lanes of more than one mile long increase capacity on a highway. The state is no longer favorable to projects that are “capacity increasing.”
The question for anyone who cares about commuters on Highway 1 is what real near-term alternatives are there? (Long term we advocate for affordable housing near jobs.) The Campaign for Sustainable Transportation would like our community to understand that a bus-only lane on the shoulder of Highway 1 could provide an alternative to being stuck in commute traffic. Instead of a genuine bus-on-shoulder alternative, the RTC is planning to operate buses in the proposed auxiliary lanes, where they will be stuck in traffic. See my 11 minute video, Real Bus-on-Shoulder.
Our lawsuit against Caltrans is based in part on their EIR’s inadequate analysis of alternatives to highway expansion. The concept of bus-on-shoulder was not mentioned in the entire EIR. If our lawsuit succeeds, we can have a community conversation about real alternatives to highway expansion.
Please help complete our lawsuit fundraising by Donating online or mail checks to Campaign for Sustainable Transportation, PO Box 7927, Santa Cruz, 95061. For a tax deductible donation, make your check out to Sierra Club Foundation, with “Caltrans Litigation Project” in the memo. It is now state policy to align transportation spending with the state's climate goals. Sometimes it takes a lawsuit to enforce that policy. That's why this lawsuit has statewide significance.
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"We live in a land where the past is always erased and America is the innocent future in which immigrants can come and start over, where the slate is clean. The past is absent or it's romanticized."
Toni Morrison
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
The pasture at Arana Gulch temporarily gained a new resident, born on May 30, to Emma. At least that's what she called on her yellow ear tag. Unfortunately all the cows have currently been moved somewhere else but for a few weeks, it was a wonderful pleasure to watch the mom and baby.
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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 16,191, up nine from last Thursday's 16,182. Deaths remained at 206. There were no significant 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%
Aug. 6-13- 12%
Aug.14-20 - 16%
Aug.20-28 - 10%
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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%
May 24 - Data readjustment by county means percentages cannot be calculated this week.
May 27 - June 3 - 0%
June 3-10 - 0%
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Labor History Calendar for June 11-17:
June 11, 1872: Unions legalized in Canada.
June 11, 1913: Cops shoot at Black and white IWW/AFL maritime workers who were striking United Fruit Co. in New Orleans - 1 killed, 2 wounded.
June 12, 1917: 260 die in Butte mine disaster - 14,000 strike for safe conditions.
June 12,1968: Unions win 12-day general strike against poverty and police repression in Senegal.
June 13, 1925: Angry miners burn three company stores in Nova Scotia.
June 14, 1905: Battleship Potemkin mutiny.
June 14, 1924: San Pedro, CA, IWW hall raided by thugs; children were scalded and the hall was demonlished.
June 14, 2009: General strike across Brazil.
June 15, 1996: Borders Books fires worker for IWW organizing in Philadelphia, sparking international picketing.
June 16, 1953: A few dozen construction workers strike against speed up sparking a rebellion in East Germany.
June 16, 1987: Paper workers strike mill near Portland, Maine.
June 17, 1913: IWW strike at Studebaker.
June 17, 1953: East German workers strike and revolt for democracy; Russia invades to restore law and order.
June 17, 2013: Millions protest transit fares increases and World Cup costs in Brazil.
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Letter to the Editor
Hi Sarah,
In your last edition of Serf City, you ran a story by Chris Krohn about a housing project being built in Santa Cruz. I am writing to correct some misinformation in Chris's piece.
Chris indicated that he did nor know whether this development came before the City Council. In fact, Council approved it Dec. 11, 2018 and he was there. He voted no. It is memorable because this is the project where instead of doing the 15% inclusionary affordable units, the developer deeded parcels of land to the City so it can build one of the Pacific Station projects that will likely have 60 to 80, 100% affordable housing units. Strange that he has forgotten all this. It is memorable too because the City was sued over the deal (and the City won).
A couple of years later, Chris was touting the 400 units the City was going to build on the deeded parcels.
Strange how short our memories can be...
Best, Gretchen Regenhardt
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Photos by TARMO HANNULA
Street Fashion: Masks in Santa Cruz in 1918
By SARAH RINGLER
This photo is from a display at 121 Walnut St., courtesy of Ross Eric Gibson. Pictured is Pharmacist S.A. Palmer and his staff in front of his drug store on Pacific Ave. near Plaza Lane in 1918.
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Tosca Cake
By SARAH RINGLER
The following cake recipe is easy and fast to make if you are in a hurry for a quick dessert. It also makes a good coffee cake.
The recipe comes from the cookbook “Moog’s Musical Eatery: A Cookbook for Carefree Entertaining” written by Shirleigh Moog. She was the wife of the inventor of the Moog synthesizer, Robert Moog. The Moog synthesizer, invented in the 1950s, marked the beginning of electronic music. There is a local connection; the Moog synthesizer first debuted at the June, 1967 Monterey International Pop Festival with notables such as Janis Joplin, Otis Redding, The Who and Jimi Hendrix appearing in their first major American public performances. That would have been an unforgettable concert.
Well, too bad for those of us who missed that event. I guess we’re just left with the cake recipe.
Also, a quick reminder – when making cakes, keep your wet and dry ingredients separate until you are just ready to combine them and put them in the oven. Also, make sure to not overmix – a few small lumps are ok,
Cake:
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup of flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup milk
1/8 pound or ½ cube of cooled melted butter
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8 inch square pan. Melt the butter.
Sift together the flour, salt and the baking powder.
Beat together the eggs and sugar. Stir in the cooled melted butter and the milk. Mix well.
Quickly stir the sifted ingredients into the liquid mixture. Do not overmix. Some lumps are fine. Spread into the greased 8-inch square pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a toothpick when inserted into the middle comes out clean.
While the cake is baking, prepare the topping.
Topping:
1/8 pound butter
1/4 cup sugar
½ cup slivered almonds
1tablespoon flour
1tablespoon milk
Combine the butter, sugar and almonds in a small saucepan and place over a burner on low heat. When the butter is melted, add the flour and milk and stir.
When the cake is done, spread the topping mixture evenly over the top. Toast under the broiler for a short while until golden brown. Watch carefully to avoid burning.
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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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