Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Tiny homes like the ones above in a church parking lot in Eugene, Oregon might be enough for an individual but aren't enough for the needs of school children.

California Dept. of Education Counts Homeless Students

By SARAH RINGLER

There will never be an excuse for the cruel and cold-hearted treatment that most of our local government leaders and residents have given to many of our unfortunate fellow community members who lack housing. The latest 2022 Point in Time Homeless Count and Survey Comprehensive Report for Santa Cruz County conducted in February found that 89% of the homeless lived in Santa Cruz at the time they lost their housing. 

The United States Housing and Urban Development Agency is not the only government entity that counts homelessness. HUD mandates that every two years, all counties in the country conduct a Point in Time count. (2021 was skipped due to Covid. See the website above for more information on the count, who conducted and compiled it, and its methodology.)

The California Department of Education also collects and reports information on homeless students. All charter and non-charter school students including English Language Learners and students with disabilities are included. The latest CDE report, 2019-20, counted 2,057 homeless students in Santa Cruz County. 

The state, through the McKinney-Vento Act, defines homelessness differently than the federal government. It classifies “homeless children and youth as individuals who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence.This definition includes:

•Children and youth who are sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic hardship, or a similar reason

• Children and youth who may be living in motels, hotels, trailer parks, shelters

•Children and youth who have a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings

• Children and youth who are living in cars, parks, public spaces, abandoned buildings, substandard housing, bus or train stations, or similar settings, or

• Migratory children who qualify as homeless because they are children who are living in similar circumstances listed above."

All of those factors affect students' ability to learn, study and be successful in school. Most teachers expect students to do some form of homework. Many schools also require students to have computers with internet access. The living situations above don’t create anything near an ideal learning environment. 

The 2022 PIT Report for Santa Cruz County showed 50 families with 158 family members out of the total 2,299 homeless. Of those families, 91% were sheltered and 9% unsheltered. There was also a total of 222 unaccompanied children and transition-age youth of which 3% were sheltered and 97% unsheltered. Making a rough count of what could be about 300 children who should be in school, the CDC report is over six times higher than the PIT.

It is positive that some homeless families have shelter but that is not enough. School aged kids need a place to study. And most unaccompanied and transition-age youth do not even have a place a sleep. The nation's, state's and community's neglect of all its homeless is unforgivable but brutal compared to its cruelty to the young.

Contact current Santa Cruz County Supervisors here:

Manu Koenig http://www.co.santa-cruz.ca.us/Government/BoardofSupervisors/District1.aspx

Ryan Coonerty  ryan.coonerty@santacruzcounty.us   

Zach Friend      zach.friend@santacruzcounty.us   

Bruce McPherson  Fifth.District@santacruzcounty.us

Greg Caput greg.caput@santacruzcounty.us  

PHOTO CONTRIBUTED

Red Cup Rebellion in Capitola

Workers at Starbuck's staged a work stoppage outside the 41st Ave. location in Capitola on Thursday. They were part of a nationwide movement of unionized stores that are protesting the company's refusal to bargain a contract.

Measure Q Opens Door to Planning a Better Watsonville

BY SAM EARNSHAW

The passage of Measure Q by voters shows that Watsonville citizens want to see the city grow in an orderly manner, which does not involve willy-nilly searching around for nice flat pieces of farmland, to put up a Costco or Walmart for city revenues, or to build out a nice big subdivision with “single-family homes” that some City Council members think will be so good for our population.

The community can work together on growth issues that can be addressed as the city embarks on the 2050 General Plan. City Council members knew since 2018 that some people in the community were talking about Measure U expiring and what that would mean. We reached out to the city, with meetings with the City manager and council members, but they stonewalled us, when they could have initiated the “community process” that they accused us of ignoring.

Now there is a real opportunity for a community process. With a new city manager and new city council, we can move forward on these important growth issues; get started on implementing the Downtown Specific Plan; get community committees working on the 2050 General Plan; look at the Industrial area along Walker Street for mixed use potential; take another review of existing vacant and under-utilized sites throughout the city.

People on all sides of the recent vote to renew our Urban Limit Line have a lot in common in their visions for Watsonville in the future. The future is now: let’s work together and move forward.

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 pigeon guillemot darts out from a cliff along West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz.

Volunteers are Needed for Thanksgiving at the Vets Hall

By SARAH RINGLER

Veterans for Peace and Friends of Thanksgiving are inviting everyone to attend their annual Community Thanksgiving Dinner, Nov. 24, 11-3pm at the Veterans Memorial Building, 846 Front St. in downtown Santa Cruz. There will be a hot meal of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with all the trimming as well as a vegetarian option all created by all-star chef, India Jozseph Schultz.

Volunteers are needed. Here are seven shifts and duties that are currently available:

Shift One: Wednesday, Nov 23, 10-11:30 am - Turkey Prep at India Joze or United Methodist Church on California Street. This shift would include working at India Joze preparing the turkeys for transport to Beckman's where they will be roasted. They need to be debagged, cleaned out, seasoned and salted, placed in a tray and covered with aluminum foil. This is a critical task and Joe needs 4 or 5 really dedicated people.

Shift Two: Wednesday, Nov 23rd, 12-2:00 PM - Vegetable prep at United Methodist Church included washing, chopping, sorting and peeling vegetables.

-November 24th, Thursday, Thanksgiving Day:

Shift Three:  1st serving shift 11am-12:15pm

Shift Four:    2nd serving shift 12:15am-1:45pm

Shift Five:    3rd serving shift 1:45am-3pm

Shift Six : 11:30am -1:00pm Thursday for general day of event activities. This shift would include any and all event activities including greeting guests, checking bags, busing tables, sweeping or moping floors, directing people in and out of the building and bathroom patrol. We need people to stand by the recycle and compost collection barrels to make sure that what can be recycle or composted is. Anything else you may find useful.

Shift Seven: 1:00-3:30 PM General day of event and cleanup. 

Please contact Steve Pleich to volunteer. Happy Holidays!

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 was one new death in the county, a white woman over 85 years old who was vaccinated. 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 above 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 -  Car Culture on the streets of Watsonville.

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

a.k.a Know Your History Lest We Forget

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 Airline’s flight attendants strike. 

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

Nov. 19, 2015: 2nd day of strikes by subcontracted workers at US airports. 

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

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.

Nov. 22, 1909: New York female garment workers’ strike in “Uprising of the 20,000.” Judge tells the arrested pickets, “You are on strike against god.”

Nov. 23, 1170 BCE: First recorded strike takes place in Egypt.

Nov. 23, 1923: Unione Sindacale Italiana founded in Modena, Italy.

Nov. 24, 1885: Anna Louise Strong born.

Nov. 24, 1947: 22-month Chicago newspaper printers’ anti-Taft-Hartley strike begins. 

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

"In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, as 'right to work.' It provides no 'rights' and no 'works.' Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining. We demand this fraud must be stopped."

Martin Luther King Jr.

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Long, Dark Evenings - Have a Party

By SARAH RINGLER

Chase away the long winter nights by having a party. Don’t succumb to the winter blues otherwise known as Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD. Invite some friends and acquaintances over, provide some food and drinks and make sure to invite at least one friend who is a wannabe comedian.

According to California Fish and Game, the commercial season for Dungeness crab is due to open Dec. 1. Freshly caught crab is a special treat even though they are time consuming to clean. Canned crab isn't too bad.

This recipe has been adapted from a recipe in Melissa Clark’s column in the New York Times. I altered it to reflect the availability of good quality Mexican ingredients as well as local, fresh crab. 

Use the jalapeños carefully. Chipotles are also jalapeños that have been left on the plant until they turn a deep red. Then they are spiced, smoked and canned. Nothing should overpower the taste of the crab. Make the dip earlier in the day, then bake it about a half hour before you will be serving it. 

California Chipotle Crab Dip

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup sour cream

2 chopped green onions

1 pickled medium sized jalapeño, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon chipotle pepper, chopped

½ lime, zest and juice

1 tablespoon minced cilantro

1 ½ - 2 cups cooked crabmeat with all shells removed – about 2 small Dungeness crabs

½ cup plus 3 tablespoons grated Monterey Jack cheese

salt and pepper

Stone ground tortilla chips

After removing the meat from the crabs, pick through again to avoid the rude shock of biting into a shard of hard shell. Enlist someone else to do this if you are burnt out, preferably someone who has experienced encountering a shell.

In a large bowl, combine the mayonnaise, sour cream, green onions, jalapeño, chipotle pepper, lime zest, lime juice, cilantro and crab meat. Add the ½ cup of grated cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate until about a half hour before you will be serving it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour the crab mixture into a lightly buttered glass pie plate, gratin dish or shallow casserole pan. The mixture should be about 1 inch to 1 ½ inch deep. Sprinkle with the remaining 3 tablespoons of cheese. Bake until the top is brown, about 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and serve with fresh tortilla chips. Serves about 10 at a party. 

To make open face sandwiches, spread this mixture, before you bake it, on slices of sourdough. Top it with the grated cheese and bake in the oven until golden brown on top. Makes about 4 open faced sandwiches. 

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