"'I Forgot' about choice and patriarchy" by Elizabeth Williams ewilliamsart@att.net  831 722 3068

Rail & Trail Updates

By FAINA SEGAL

Rail & Trail is excited to share good news about Rail Trail Segments 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 that will go all the way from the Westside to State Park Drive:

Segment 7 - Construction Underway from Westside to the Beach

On the lower Westside, construction is ongoing for Rail Trail Segment 7b from Bay and California to the beach. The trail will flow next to the railroad tracks behind Neary Lagoon on a gradual descent to Depot Park and then emerge at the roundabout at the foot of the wharf. This new section of trail will give kids in the Depot Park and Beach Flats neighborhoods a protected and more gradual climb uphill to the Westside schools, and people on the Westside a safer route to the beach and beyond. Segment 7b grant funding also includes money to pay for bicycle and pedestrian education for all grades at Bay View Elementary.

Kyle Kelly, Santa Cruz City Schools Trustee, spoke on Twitter about the importance of the Segment 7 Rail Trail, “Bay View Elementary has about 338 students and most live less than ¾ of a mile from the Rail Trail. With the new path, they have a safe route to school that frees Santa Cruz from more car traffic.” 

Rail Trail from Boardwalk to State Park Drive: Grant Applications Submitted

Segments 8, 9, 10, and 11, which stretch from the Boardwalk to State Park Drive, have all applied for construction funding. The way that projects like these get funded is the agency responsible for the project uses our local tax dollars from 2016 Measure D to act as a local match to apply for state and federal grants. If successful in this round of funding, we can expect construction on these segments to start in the next 18-24 months. 

The Rail Trail has a great track record for getting grant funds, and we are confident that these new segments will also score high in the grant application process and be awarded funds. Our thanks go to the City of Santa Cruz Public Works department and the County of Santa Cruz Department of Public Works staff for everything they have been doing to make these projects successful, including but not limited to their grant-writing efforts. They are unsung heroes of the Rail Trail. 

'Ultimate Trail' Confirmed in Segments 8 & 9 Draft EIR

The Draft Environmental Impact Review (DEIR) for the Rail Trail from the Boardwalk to 17th Avenue has been released and contains good news: the official proposed project, the Ultimate Trail, continues to score the highest among the build alternatives. The Ultimate Trail option is the plan to build the trail next to the tracks in a permanent location and preserve the tracks for rail transit.

Alternative Scenarios in the DEIR Explained

Despite the track-removal idea being defeated in the last election by a landslide, many folks have been wondering why there is still discussion of the Interim Trail. Environmental reviews are created to learn the most environmentally friendly way to complete a project. At the heart of this process, planners typically study at least 3 different scenarios: the proposed project scenario, at least one alternative-build scenario, and a no-build scenario. After the study, they score each scenario in all the different environmental impact categories. Then they add up the final scores to get the overall environmental-impact rankings. The final report is extensive and measures impacts on nature, such as trees and native-animal habitat, as well as impacts on people, such as aesthetics and air quality. 

For Rail Trail segments 8 and 9, the Ultimate Trail option with the trail built next to the tracks is the official proposed project. Before the election, an Interim Trail option was added to the EIR as one of the alternative study scenarios to be scored against this Proposed Project. 

The completed DEIR shows that the Ultimate Trail option is best for the environment. We can see that the proposed project's Ultimate Trail option has lesser environmental impacts than the other options, including the Interim Trail option. This is unsurprising since the Interim Trail would require track demolition before trail construction, followed ultimately by demolition of the new trail so that both track and trail could be re-constructed in the final alignment. Just one of the factors that led to this conclusion was the finding that the Ultimate Trail would result in fewer tree removals.

All of this is great news for construction starting on time. The planners can continue moving forward with this proposed project. Current estimates put construction starting sometime next year in 2023 or early in 2024, pending a grant from the California Transportation Commission (CTC). We expect to hear from them about final grant awards in early December.

At the SEIU office on Mission St., Gail Pellerin, second from the left meets Jackie Cummings, center, Justin Cummings's mom. She was in Santa Cruz from Chicago to help with her son's election.

PHOTOS SARAH RINGLER

Midterm Election, Santa Cruz County

By SARAH RINGLER

Tuesday night election results for the county were not particularly favorable for those of us on the progressive spectrum. Luckily, new numbers will be released Friday at 4pm HERE.  

The Friday numbers might provide some hope. At the Service Employees International Union, SEIU, office on Mission St. in Santa Cruz, for a long time a place where people have worked to support good jobs, affordable housing, and a healthy inclusive environment, a crowd met at 8 pm to watch the results for

Gail Pellerin's bid for 28th District State Assembly, Justin Cummings’s run for the 3rd District Supervisor, Hector Marin’s run for City of Santa Cruz District 4 Council seat, Sean Maxwell’s City of Santa Cruz’s District 6 seat and Measure N, the City of Santa Cruz Empty Home Initiative.

There was a large spread of food and a lot of talk; stalwarts of progressive causes in Santa Cruz, Sandy Brown and Chris Krohn, among others, were there. UCSC students arrived and reported long lines at the polls at Stevenson College rendering hope that Friday’s numbers might be more auspicious. 

The Yes On O watch party at Woodstock Pizza in downtown Santa Cruz (see below) was a lively festive event with over sixty people of all ages enjoying drinks, salads and pizza while laughing and chattering. For the entire campaign, this movement had embodied the creative, wry and intelligent progressive people of Santa Cruz. Credit has to be given to Russell Brutsché for his highly amusing and inspired youtube videos and 3-D map that shows how Santa Cruz will look if the developer friendly crowd gets their way.

Speaking of which, the No on O gathering of about 18 people, in contrast and belying their lead in the polls, gathered across the street in the dark bar in the Abbott Square Market in quiet conversation; the only person I recognized - it was dark - was Cynthia Matthews.

Watsonville's Yes on Measure Q that wants to protect farmland and prevent sprawl in the Pajaro Valley is winning with 67% of the vote. A counter measure, Yes on Measure S is also ahead with 51%. Yes on S supports protecting farmland but allows city government to get involved and make exceptions. The measure with the most votes wins.

The photo above is from Jon Silver's latest trip to the National Museum of African History and Culture at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. 

Photo by TARMO HANNULA 

A red-footed booby perched on the railing on the pier at the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf is an uncommon sight in our area and usually lives in tropical oceans.

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. Covid-19 vaccines are available for everyone 6 months and older. Updated Covid-19 boosters are available for everyone 5 and older. Make an appointment with a doctor or the local pharmacy. Go HERE for details. 

There were no new deaths in the county over the last three weeks. Click to view a graph of hospitalizations HERE.

Because of the availability of home testing I don't report on changes in the active cases in the county. The Health Department is now collecting data for Covid and monkeypox from wastewater at the City Influent for the city of Santa Cruz, and from the Lode Street pump stations for the county. See webpage HERE. The first chart below shows the latest county data.



Here are details on the county's vaccination data. Vaccination data has not changed much and doesn't include the boosters.

This webpage also has a link where you can get a digital copy and scannable QR code of your vaccination record. Keep track of your four-digit code because that is your access to the site.

The county's Effective Reproductive Number is below one. See the second chart below. Numbers above one show the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing. The chart, released from the California Department of Public Health below shows several predictions from different agencies. For information, click here.

The government is no longer issuing free Antigen Rapid Tests; Congress has not provided funding.To get information on COVID-19 testing locations around the county visit this site. You can make an appointment for a Rapid Antigen Test here.

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Fashion Street -  A man pedals his bike rigged with a lighted frame of a giant fish along 41st Avenue. 

Labor History Calendar - Oct. 28 - Nov. 3, 2022

a.k.a Know Your History Lest We Forget

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 the 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 but is crushed by the army.

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

Nov. 15, 1923: German mark collapses after long slide. Takes 4.2 trillion marks to buy a single 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; Voltairine de Cleyre born.

Nov. 17, 1878: Australian Maritime strike.

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

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

"Do nothing and do it well."

Pledge by striking Chinese furniture workers in Melbourne, Australia in 1903.

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

The Crisy, Spicy Sambusa Project 

By SARAH RINGLER

Many cultures have little packages full of ingredients that are folded into dough and fried, baked or steamed. This recipe from Somalia is distinguished by the spices and the unusual way the packages are prepared. There are many steps that might take you in directions you have never gone before. It is from mysomalifood.com.

Early humans have lived in Somalia since Paleolithic times, the Old Stone Age, over 3 million years ago. Although the Doian and Hargeisan cultures may not have been making sambusas, they were using stone, wood and bone tools to hunt, prepare food, build dwellings, make clothes and art.

Sambusas are very crispy which comes from being fried but also from the way the dough is formed. The dough is made, kneaded, formed into balls, rolled out into disks and then the disks are layered and rolled out again. Rolling out the disks together makes for a very thin and delicate crust. Filled with spicy meat, they can be served with something simple like a salad or steamed vegetables.

Closely related to Indian samosas, they are wonderful served with chutney and yogurt. According to S. Mangalassary in “Indigenous Culture, Education and Globalization,” they originated in the Middle East and spread outward to Asia and Africa from there. 

Sambusa wrappers: 

1 1/2 cups plain all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon oil

½ cup lukewarm water, or more if necessary

Salt

Filling: 

½-pound ground beef or lamb 

1 tablespoon oil for rolling out

1 small onion, chopped

1 small minced green serrano or jalapeño chili

1 green onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped

1 teaspoon coriander powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon cardamom powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

Flour for rolling out

1 cup oil for final frying 

Flour paste:

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons water, or as needed

You will be making 16 wrappers. First, mix the flour, oil and salt in a medium bowl. Add the water slowly using a fork to make a soft and pliable dough. Add more water if necessary. Knead it for 5-10 minutes until smooth and pliable. Form the dough into a ball and coat the outside with cooking oil. Cover and set it aside for about 15 minutes.

Knead the dough again and divide it into 4 equal portions. Form each portion into a ball. On a floured board, take two balls and roll each one into a 5-inch circle. Brush one circle with oil and place the other one on top. Press the edges gently with your fingers to make sure they line up. With a rolling pin, roll on a floured surface into an 8-10 inch diameter circle. Repeat with the other two portions. You now have 2 double circles. 

Heat a 12-inch skillet or griddle on medium-low heat. Take one of your double circles and with a sharp knife and cut it into quarters. Take one quarter and roll it out into a large triangle shape, about double in size. Place the triangle on the warm skillet and warm on each side to dry it out, but make sure you don’t leave it too long. Remove and let it cool slightly. Slowly separate it into two pieces without tearing them. Cover them with a towel and continue to repeat the same steps until you have 16 wrappers. 

Making the filling by heating a skillet with oil over medium heat. Add the meat and crumble with a spoon. Then stir in the onions, minced green chilis, green onions, garlic and cilantro. Finally add spices, salt and pepper and cook briefly for few minutes. Taste and adjust flavors. Let the filling cool at room temperature.

In a small bowl, mix flour and the water to make a smooth paste. To assemble the sambusas, take one the wrappers with your hands and form it into a cone shape. Seal the edges with flour paste.  Fill the cone with a few spoons of filling and close the top into a triangle shape and seal it with the flour paste. Pinch the edges so that it is completely sealed. Divide the filling between 16 wrappers. 

Prepare your stove for deep fat frying. Use a stable heavy bottomed frying pan. Set up a strainer over a bowl to catch the sambusas as they come out of the oil and then a cookie tin covered with paper towels to drain off the excess fat.

Heat about 1 cup of oil in the frying pan over medium high heat. Do not leave the stove at this point. Fry the sambusas until golden brown. Remove and drain in strainer and then on paper towels. Serve while warm.

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 © 2022 Sarah Ringler - All rights reserved