Next Issue Nov. 22

Valley Catholic Cemetery, 2401 East Lake, Watsonville at the Día de Muertos Celebration in 2023.

PHOTO BY TARMO HANNULA

Don't Miss Día de Muertos at the Watsonville Plaza, Nov. 1

BY WATSONVILLE FILM FESTIVAL

On Friday, Nov. 1, from 4-9pm, the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF) will present the 7th Annual Día de Muertos event at the downtown Watsonville Plaza. In keeping with tradition, this free event will feature film, music, dance and the largest number of altars ever. New this year are the screening of the Mexican animated movie The Book of Life, and the world premiere of the short film Eternidad by director Ignacio Muñoz, a WFF Cine Se Puede grantee. 



Everyone is invited to dress like fancy skeletons and participate in the Catrina and Catrin Catwalk. The Book of Life (El Libro de la Vida) produced by iconic Mexican filmmaker Guillermo del Toro will screen in Spanish with English subtitles at 7pm. WFF will also premiere the short silent film Eternidad, inspired by Day of the Dead, and directed by WFF Cine Se Puede grantee Ignacio Muñoz. Muñoz. The director, his cast and crew will be in attendance. People are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and warm clothes. 

People will have the opportunity to decorate sugar skulls, make luminarias, write letters to their loved ones, participate in colorful mosaic making and have their faces painted, thanks to the Watsonville High School Hope Club, Pajaro Valley Arts, Raíces y Cariño, Watsonville Brillante and Hospice of Santa Cruz County.  

The heart and soul of the celebration are the altars – set up by families and non-profit organizations – that honor ancestors and loved ones who have passed on. This year there will be 30 community ofrendas. Pan de muerto (Bread of the Dead) made by local bakeries, and marigolds harvested in Pájaro Valley fields, will accompany the photos and mementos on the ofrendas (altars). The public is welcome to bring their own flowers and offerings to leave on a community altar. The program is available HERE. 

Good Public Involvement Requires Good Information

BY RICK LONGINOTTI - CHAIR CAMPAIGN FOR SUSTATINABLE TRANSPORTATION

The Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) is asking for public input on the 5-year Measure D expenditure plan. Good that the RTC wants public input, right? 

Not so good to give the public false information. In the lead-up to Measure D in 2016, the RTC sent out a glossy mailer to all voters in the county claiming that building auxiliary lanes on Highway 1 would “ease congestion”. That claim was contrary to the information available at the time from the Draft EIR (2015) which stated that the auxiliary lanes “would result in a very slight improvement in traffic congestion when compared to the No Build Alternative”. 

So if you plan to give public input on the Measure D expenditure plan, you might ask that our local tax dollars be spent on real solutions (transit and active transportation), not phony promises of congestion relief. The deadline for comments by email to info@sccrtc.org is 9am on Nov. 6. Or show up at the RTC meeting on Nov. 7 at 9:30pm at the Board of Supervisors Chambers, 701 Ocean St. and tell them in person. 

Although the auxiliary lanes from Santa Cruz are under construction, we can still stop the segment that goes from State Park Dr. to Freedom Blvd. that would cost more than the other auxiliary lanes put together. The EIR for that segment states that morning northbound congestion will actually get worse after the project is built. Wouldn’t it make sense for the RTC to put the State Park to Freedom project on hold while it makes an assessment of whether the 2015 EIR’s prediction for “very slight” improvement in congestion turns out to be true? 

Speaking of phony information, the RTC persists in calling their auxiliary lane project a “bus on shoulder” project. There is no bus on shoulder project in the USA where buses operate in auxiliary lanes. The Santa Cruz experiment promises to be a failure, since we already know that auxiliary lanes get congested during peak commutes. 

If you’d like to be part of the local piece of an international movement to stop misguided highway expansion, contact me: RickLonginotti@gmail.com 

Image below: This mailer went out to all voters costing taxpayers over $100,000 with false promise that auxiliary lanes would “ease congestion”. (Warning label added)

Who are Los Nuevos Canarios?

BY KATHLEEN KILPATRICK

Films of initiative and bravery - Los Nuevos Canarios - Nov. 15, 6-8pm

CineLux Green Valley Cinema 8 -

1125 South Green Valley Rd. Watsonville

For years teachers from Pajaro Valley United School District, along with others in the Monterey Bay Region, advocated for buffer zones around schools that are close to agricultural fields to protect students and staff from pesticide drift. Regulations went into effect in 2016 requiring limited buffer zones, annual lists of pesticides that growers might use, and advance notification for some pesticides. Implementation and enforcement has not been consistent across the state, and non-public schools by fields were not included.

Californians for Pesticide Reform (CPR) and Safe Ag Safe Schools (SASS) found a legislator, Assemblyperson Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael), to sponsor a bill fixing some of the deficiencies in the regulations. CPR and Assemblyperson Connolly launched the bill, but a lot of the heavy lifting to get it passed through the legislature and on to the governor’s desk for signing was done by students.

Forming as a SASS off-shoot and calling themselves "Future Leaders of Change" (FLOC), the students attended multiple committee meetings, testified at hearings, lobbied the bill through both houses of the California State Assembly, and got people to pressure Governor Newsom to sign it. Several of them did this while graduating from Watsonville High School and Greenfield High, and while continuing on to college.

Throughout this saga, their efforts were being documented by a film student from UC Berkeley, and by another film crew funded through a grant from the Arts Council for Monterey County. While the film was being made, FLOC students also learned video and journalism skills and did their own short pieces. All these films will be shown at a special premier affiliated with the Watsonville Film Festival. This is a red carpet, big screen event, happening at the CineLux Green Vally Cinema in Watsonville Nov. 15. Support our youth as they tell and show us how pesticides have impacted their communities, their families, and their own lives. If you use social media, check out the Facebook pages for FLOC and SASS to get previews of our youth, their dedication, earnestness, and yes, sass!

Did Newsom sign? Will stricter reporting requirements for pesticide use by schools be required? Will private school be included? What does it take to get a bill passed in California? Come watch the films and attend the Q&A that follows to find out.

Nov. 16 Showing in Watsonville: "Campesinos: America's Unsung Heroes"

BY ROSALES SISTERS' SCHOLARSHIP

Join us in Watsonville on Nov. 16, 4pm at the Cinelux Theater, 1125 S. Green Valley Rd. in celebration of Campesinos: America's Unsung Heroes, a film by Joe Poni. This unique film highlights the campesino struggle in all of its complexity. Your ticket price, sponsorship, and community support will intern support students of Pajaro Valley Unified School District via the Rosales Sisters' Scholarship.

The Rosales Sisters' Scholarship is partnering with the Silicon Valley Latino Agency to present this film along with a panel discussion with the film's producers and key community members. Many of our recipients come from campesino families, as does the Rosales Sisters' family. This film brings awareness to the needs of our community. Your community engagement, ticket price, or sponsorship will support the annual scholarships we provide to Pajaro Valley Unified School District and the graduating class of 2025.

Click HERE to get a ticket/sponsorship.

Labor Abuses Cost Beach Boardwalk $5.9 Million

BY SARAH RINGLER

Hillary Ojeda, of Lookout Santa Cruz, reported on Wednesday that the owners of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the Seaside Company, have been ordered to pay $5.9 million as a result of violating California labor laws by not paying overtime or allowing meal and rest breaks. Collectively, employees who worked from July 25, 2019 to Aug. 11, 2024 may get $3.5 million after attorney fees are subtracted. Each settlement will depend on the time worked. Most workers have been notified.

A lawsuit was filed in July 2023 by Travis Sanford who worked in food service at the Boardwalk from Aug. 2016 to Dec. 2021.

CARTOON BY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS

The International Collectors Society put this stamp out in 1995. It is a certified Official Legal Tender postage stamp issued from Tanzania and is reportedly recognized by every Postal Authority around the world.

PHOTO BY TARMO HANNULA

The Lure of Jerry Garcia

BY WOODY REHANEK  

Fentanyl took Michael Jackson, Prince,

& Tom Petty. Ketamine took Matthew

Perry. Some said that chili dogs got

Jerry, but it wasn't the chili dogs. 

It was heroin. Yet at the August '66

Pescadero Bicycle Race, Quicksilver

Messenger Service & the Grateful Dead 

played at the Portuguese Hall under a

hyper strobe. Later, Jerry sat outside

& talked with fans. "Moxie was a 

soft drink sold in San Francisco," 

he said. "That would be a great name

for a rock band!" Decades later,

Jerry couldn't hang out because 

he would be mobbed. He was famous,

he was a rock icon, & to some fans,

a god. "I'll put up with it until they

come for me with the cross & nails,"

he said. Well, it didn't get that far,

but Friday's Santa Cruz Sentinel

fishing report had this to say:

"Local fisherman Mike Mongiello

found albacore success while trolling 

chugging lures & tuna clones in Jerry 

Garcia colors." (Mike Baxter, 8-29-24)

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

Photo by TARMO HANNULA 

A cinnamon teal wades the waters of the Salinas River.

Santa Cruz County Covid-19 Report

By SARAH RINGLER

The California Department of Public Health and Santa Cruz County Health Department regularly release data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county as well as information on influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and Mpox. Since cases of Covid are still appearing, and there are still vulnerable people, I will continue reporting the graphs below.

The three graphs below were updated on Oct. 30.

The first graph is the Effective Reproductive Number. When the line rises above one, it shows that 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.



The third graph below shows hospitalizations.

Photo TARMO HANNULA

Fashion Street - Serf City publisher Sarah Ringler is outsized by an inflated ghoul in front of the Thai restaurant, Lemongrass Seafood & Grill, in Moss Landing.

Labor History Calendar - Nov. 1-21, 2024

a.k.a Know Our History Lest We Forget

Nov. 1, 1916: Australian miners strike for shorter hours.

Nov. 1, Malbone tunnel disaster in NYC; scab motorman crashes trains during strike: 97 killed, 255 injured.

Nov. 1, 2018: Thousands of Google workers walk out around the world to protest sexual harassment. 

Nov. 2, 1811: Weavers and knitters smash machines at Sutton and Ashfield in England. 

Nov. 2, 1909: 150 arrested in IWW free speech fight in Spokane, Washington.

Nov. 2, 2011: General Strike in solidarity with Occupy Oakland closes port.

Nov. 3, 1839: Workers’ uprising in Wales.

Nov. 3, 1883: US Supreme Court decides Native Americans are aliens.

Nov. 4, 1956: Hungarian revolt crushed by Soviet troops in Budapest. 

Nov. 5, 1855: Eugene Debs, Socialist leader, born.

Nov. 5, 1916: Everett, Washington massacre, at least six IWWs killed.

Nov. 5, 1984: Anti-apartheid general strike in South Africa.

Nov. 6, 1918: Revolt in shipyards in Kiel & Hamburg and creation of Workers’ Councils in Germany. 

Nov. 7, 1912: First appearance of IWW in Ernest Peibe”s “Mr. Block” comic strip.

Nov. 7, 1917: Bolshevik Revolution launched in Russia.

Nov. 8, 1892: 20,000 Black and White workers stage a general strike in New Orleans.

Nov. 8, 1924: Australian dockers strike against overtime until Dec. 13^th. 

Nov. 9, 1935: Congress of Industrial Organizations founded. 

Nov. 9, 1988: Military kills three strikers and wound dozens at the Companhia Siderurgica Nacional, Brazil.

Nov. 9, 1989: Berlin Wall falls. 

Nov. 10, 1816: “Scab” meaning strikebreaker, used in print for the first time. 

Nov. 10, 1933: Sit-down strike begins at Austin, Minn., Hormel plant.

Nov. 10, 1992: General strike against anti-union laws in Australia.

Nov. 11, 1887: Haymarket martyrs executed.

Nov. 11, 1919: IWW organizer Wesley Everest lynched after Centralia, Washington – IWW hall attacked.

Nov. 12, 1815: Early feminist Elizabeth Cady Stanton born.  

Nov. 13, 1945: GM strike closes 96 plants. 

Nov. 13, 1974: Unionist Karen Silkwood killed traveling to give reporter documents on nuclear power safety violations. 

Nov. 14, 1799: Napoleon Bonaparte seizes power, ending French Revolution.

Nov. 14, 1903: Striking Chinese furniture makers battle scabs. 1,100 strikers and locked-out workers pledged to “do nothing, and do it well,” in Melbourne, Australia.

Nov. 15, 1911: IWW general strike in Tampico, Mexico, demands release of organizers –crushed by army.

Nov. 15, 1922: Soldiers fire on protest demanding release of imprisoned unionists in Ecuador – 300 killed.

Nov. 15, 1923: German mark collapses after long slide. Takes 4.2 trillion marks to buy a single American dollar.

Nov. 16, 1849: Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky sentenced to death for socialist activities; later commuted to four years hard labor in Siberia.

Nov. 17, 1866: Voltaire de Cleyre born.

Nov. 17, 1878: Australia Maritime strike.

Nov. 17, 2011: 30,000 march across New York City, protesting Nov. 15 eviction of Occupy from Zuccoti Park. 

Nov. 18, 1918: Four-day general strike against cost of living in Portugal.

Nov. 18, 1919: Seattle printers refuse to print anti-labor ad in newspaper.

Nov. 18, 1993: American Airlines flight attendants strike. 

Nov. 19, 1915: IWW songwriter Joe Hill murder by Utah authorities.

Nov. 19, 2015: Second day of strikes by subcontracted workers at US airports. 

Nov. 20, 1816: First use of the term “scab” by the Typographical Society in Albany, NY.

Nov. 20, 1884: Norman Thomas born, American socialist leader.

Nov. 21, 1922: Trolley workers win with general strike in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Nov. 21, 1927: Picketing IWW miners massacred in Columbine, Colorado.

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

When I look back on my past and think how much time I wasted on nothing, how much time has been lost in futilities, errors, laziness, incapacity to live; how little I appreciated it, how many times I sinned against my heart and soul-then my heart bleeds. Life is a gift, life is happiness, every minute can be an eternity of happiness.



Fyodor Dostoevsky

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Pistachio cookies

 By SARAH RINGLER

These pretty, spongy, golden green cookies, made from ground pistachios, are just sweet enough. The recipe is from Nicole Malik at deliciouseveryday.com. 

Pistachio nuts still seem special to me, even though these days they are easy to find and mostly affordable. They are best when crunchy, so if you’ve had some sitting in the cupboard for a while, this is a good way to use them up. 

Some of you may remember when pistachios came in small long packages with dyed red shells. Since most of the nuts came from the Middle East at that time, the red dye was a way of hiding some of the blotches on the shells, according to Anne Ewbank’s story, “America’s Pistachio Industry Came from a Single Seed.” California’s pistachio business grew from a small niche industry in the late 1970s after the U.S. placed a retaliatory embargo on Iranian products after Iranian college students, protesting America’s support of the monarchy of the Shah, stormed the American Embassy in Tehran. The Iranian Revolution ensued and the current Islamic Republic was established in 1979. Iran continues to grow pistachios as it has for the last 8,700 years is now the world’s largest producer of pistachios, followed by the United States. 

The measurements below may seem awkward; I had to convert metric measurements to the U.S. Customary System of Units to fit the American kitchen. Even after The Metric Conversion Act was passed by the U.S. government in 1975, the country still hasn‘t universally adopted the metric system and remains the only country in the world except for Liberia and Myanmar who haven’t. I purchased a battery-operated kitchen scale with ounces and grams to help me make the conversions.

The recipe also called for caster sugar, also called castor sugar, superfine or baker’s sugar. It is a more finely ground white sugar, but not as fine as confectioners’ sugar, and blends in easier and more efficiently than “regular” white sugar.  It’s easy to make by putting white sugar in a blender or food processor and running for a minute or two until the sugar grains become finer. 

1 1/2 cup shelled pistachios

¾ cup plus 2 tablespoons white sugar ground in the blender or food processor

1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon plain flour

3 egg whites

1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar

Preheat the oven to 320 degrees and lightly butter two cookie tins or line them with parchment baking paper. Process regular white sugar for a very short time in a blender until it becomes fine, but not powdery. Set aside in a small bowl. 

Place 1 1/4 cups of the pistachios in the same food processor and mix just until finely ground. Make sure you don't turn it into pistachio butter.

Place the ground pistachios, ¼ cup of the caster sugar and the flour in a large bowl. Whisk to combine.

Place the egg whites into the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until soft peaks form. Add the remaining caster sugar gradually and beat a little longer.  Fold the egg whites into the pistachio mixture and stir carefully just until well combined. You want to keep the batter fluffy. Place heaped teaspoons on the baking trays. Chop the remaining pistachios and sprinkle over the top of the cookies.

Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly golden and transfer to a wire rack to cool. Dust with confectioners’ sugar if desired. Makes about 2 dozen cookies. 

Send your story, poetry or art: 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

Send comments to coluyaki@gmail.com

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Thanks, Sarah Ringler