Photo by SARAH RINGLER
Field workers with Lakeside Organic Gardens harvest head lettuce on Salinas Road in Pajaro. Notice the row of white flowers, alyssum, that attract tiny wasps that eat and control aphids that love to eat lettuce, roses, fruit trees and other plants.
SC County Ag Commissioner Presents Statewide Pilot Program Said to Bring Enviornmental Justice and Protect Public Health
By SARAH RINGLER
Santa Cruz County Agricultural Commissioner Juan Hidalgo held a community meeting at the Pajaro Village Club House in Watsonville Tuesday to announce a new statewide pilot notification program that will provide select residents with information about poisonous chemicals that are being applied to fields around them. Four California counties are part of the pilot program, Ventura, Riverside, Stanislaus and Santa Cruz; each county will be testing different agricultural chemicals. According to the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, when the statewide system is instituted, it “will advance environmental justice and further protect public health by providing transparent and equitable access to information in advance of pesticide application occurring near where people live, work or play.”
In Santa Cruz County, the pilot program will get underway in August and end in December. The chemicals studied in our pilot are the following fumigants: 1,3-Dichloropropene, chloropicrin and metam potassium. They were chosen because there are restrictions to their use and because of their toxicity, according to Hidalgo. These fumigants are injected into the ground under plastic tarps, usually once a year in the late summer or early fall and usually in the evenings. Some crops like, raspberries, might not be fumigated every year. The tarps are removed after nine days and carted off to a “recycler” in Salinas.
The target population for the Santa Cruz County pilot program are about 1,000 residents mostly living in senior housing in southeast Watsonville, alongside agricultural fields. Although schools are not included in the notification, there are five schools in this area. About 30 farms, located in a mile semicircle out from the houses, grow organically and conventionally grown strawberries, raspberries, apples and leafy vegetables. Residents who live in this area will soon receive a letter about this in the mail. They will be able to volunteer to receive updates on their phones or by email that provide 36-hour notification of a pesticides, in this case fungicides, being applied in the area. Farmers will then have four days to implement the application due to weather and other circumstances. Information and warnings will also be posted on the county’s website.
People in the Pajaro Valley know they live around farmland. Many of the residents work in agriculture. Naturally, many of them are also concerned about their health. For a few decades, groups like Safe Ag Safe Schools and residents, have pushed for notification. Although only about 15 residents from the senior area were at this event, those there expressed concern about their health and wanting the opportunity to close windows or leave the area when needed.
This is not just a health issue for people who live near agriculture. Strawberries are listed at the top of the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list for 2022. Environmental Working Group is a non-profit funded and supported by the Walton Family, Turner Foundation, Stonyfield Farms and more. EWG’s analyzes data about the contamination of pesticides on our foods from the United Stated Department of Agriculture. This analysis includes not only the percentage of samples with pesticides, but also the number and amount of pesticides on all samples and individual samples. Key findings were that 90% of strawberries, as well as apples, cherries, spinach, nectarines and grapes tested positive for residue from two or more pesticides.
It doesn’t appear that this pilot program will provide much information or comfort to the residents. Conventionally grown strawberries and raspberries are only a part of what is being grown on the 30 farms in the pilot area and fungicides are only applied once a year for strawberries and less for some raspberries. The pilot, going from August to December, will catch only one set of applications. There is a greater concern about other air-born poisonous agricultural chemicals as well. But Ag Commissioner Hidalgo closed the meeting with a promise that if you see someone in hazmat suits, call his office at 831-763-8080 with the time and place, and his office will let you know what was being sprayed.
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Hola Film Lovers!
By CONSUELO ALBA AND WFF BOARD AND TEAM
Here's an opportunity to celebrate local student filmmakers. It's a free event and open to the public. Come and be inspired!
Watsonville Film Festival continues to forge ahead with the important work of cultivating the next generation of filmmakers. In partnership with PVUSD, we are proud to co-present the Youth Cinema Project's Oscars Night. Support local students who will premiere their films at the Mello Center today, May 27, starting at 4pm. YCP Founder and legendary actor Edward James Olmos will join the celebration. Masks strongly encouraged. See you mañana!
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Reel Work Labor Film Festival - The Labor Movement is Still Alive - On Strike
By SARAH RINGLER
During the week of May 25-31, you have the opportunity, at your leisure online, to watch two films, "Local 1196: A Steelworkers Strike," Samuel George's film that chronicles a March 2021 steelworkers strike, and "On Strike," Zack William's 2021 dramatic film on the PATCO strike and its long time effect on the labor movement.
Don't miss the panel discussion with the filmmakers, May 31 at 7pm. Register up here.
Reel Work Graphics by TONI BAUER
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Santa Cruz for Bernie Endorsements
From JEFFREY SMEDBERG for the Santa Cruz for Bernie Team
SC4B endorsed in a limited number of races, and not all races are on all ballots. You can vote now through 8pm on June 7.
No on D - No Way Greenway - Support Rail & Trail for equitable transportation in Santa Cruz County.
No on E - Gerrymandered and Undemocratic District Elections for Santa Cruz City Council
No on F - Regressive Sales Tax for City of Santa Cruz
California Assembly District 28 (parts of Santa Cruz and Santa Clara Counties)
Gail Pellerin - Voting Rights veteran and groundbreaking LGBTQ+ ally.
Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 4 (Watsonville and South County) -
Felipe Hernandez - Champion of labor and an affordable housing advocate
Santa Cruz County Supervisor District 3 (Santa Cruz and North Coast)
No Endorsement, but advises voting for anyone but Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson
Early Voting and Same Day Registration every day through June 7
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May 27 Poetry Writers of Color
May 27, Friday
5-6pm reception at the Strawberry Patch Cafe
734 E. Lake, Watsonville
6:30-8 Poetry Reading upstairs at Watsonville Yoga with the Writers of Color SC Collective. Everyone is invited to share their writing at open mic. Poets include Adela Najarro, Bob Gomez (Poet Laureate of Watsonville), Vicky Banales, Madeline Ciara, Geneffa Jonker, ...and, you! Bring your poetry to share!
$5-$15 admission, with all net proceeds to youth writing programs in Watsonville.This event supports the Rebecca J. Garcia/CHAC Scholarship fund for first-generation writers at Cabrillo College.
A poem by Bob Gómez, photo above, the Poet Laureate of Watsonville and a member of Writers of Color Santa Cruz County:
"Sustento"
Just as the smallest field mouse
feeds, feasts on the winter persimmon
which is as large or larger
than itself,
So we too find essential nourishment
in all seasons everywhere
in love which is abundant,
omnipresent, eternal and large
as ourselves
but larger than ourselves.
Find, feast, live on
and live long!
Tal como el más pequeño ratoncito del campo
come, se festeja con el pérsimo invernal
que es tan grande o más grande
que él,
Así nosotros también encontramos el sustento esencial
en toda estación y todo lugar
en el amor abundante,
omnipresente, eterno y grande como uno
pero más grande que uno.
¡Encuentra, festeja, vive
y revivifícate amando!
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
A great blue heron seaches for a mid-afternoon bite along a drainage culvert on Trafton Road in Watsonville.
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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. Total known cases as of May 26 were 51,933 up 335 cases from last week's 51,598, rounding off to a 1% rise. There were no new deaths this week.
The government is issuing four free Antigen Rapid Tests for free here.
Because of all the home tests currently available, these numbers are underestimates according to Corinne Hyland, County Health Services Agency spokesperson. She recommends people with minor symptoms stay home, isolate and rest.
Hospitalizations stayed the same at 650. Click to view a graph of hospitalizations here.
There have been changes in the last week in the active cases. Active cases in south county stayed the same, north county increased by 1% and mid county decreased by 1%. See details in the chart below.
On the county's vaccination webpage, the vaccination rate shows that 81% of the county have had at least one dose and 75% have had two doses. Here are more details on the county's vaccination data.
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 now above one. See chart below. Numbers above one show the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing.
To get information of COVID-19 testing locations around the county visit this site. Click here to make an appointment to get tested.
Any Californian age 12 or up can get vaccinated for free. For information on getting vaccinated, click here.
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% deaths by ethnicity:
White - 57%
Latinx - 34%
Black - 1%
Asian - 6%
American Native - 0%
Unknown - 0%
% deaths by gender/% of population:
Female - 48%/50%
Male - 52%/50%
Deaths by age/262:
25-34 - 2%
35-44 - 3%
45-54 - 4%
55-59 - 2%
60-64 - 6%
65-74 - 20%
75-84 - 23%
85+ - 43%
% active cases testing positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 12%/12%
North county - 69%/56%
South county - 18%/32%
Under investigation - 1%
Deaths by vaccination status:
vaccinated - 28/262 = 11%
unvaccinated - 232/262 = 89%
Weekly increases in positive tests:
June 12-19, 2020 - 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%
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, 2021 - 13%
Jan. 7-14 - 14%
Jan. 15-21 - 11%
Jan. 21-28 - 5%
Jan. 28-Feb. 4 - 5%
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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%
June 11-17 - .25%
June 18-24 - 0%
June 25-July 1 - 0%
July 2-8 - .3%
July 9-15 - .2%
July 16-22 - .5%
July 23-29 - 1.2%
July 30-Aug. 5 - 2%
Aug. 6-12 - .7%
Aug.13-19 - 4%
Aug. 20-26 - .7%
Aug. 26-Sept. 2 - 3%
Sept. 2-9 - 2%
Sept. 10-16 - 1%
Sept. 17-22 - 1%
Sept. 23-30 - 2%
Oct. 1-7 - 0%
Oct. 8-14 - 1%
Oct. 15-21 - 1%
Oct. 22-28 - 1%
Oct. 29-Nov. 4 - 1%
Nov. 5-11 - 1%
Nov. 12-18 - 2%
Nov. 19 - Dec. 2 - 2 weeks 2%
Dec. 2-9 - 2%
Dec. 9-16 - 1%
Dec. 16-23 - 1%
Dec. 24-30 - 2%
Dec. 31 - Jan. 6, 2022 - 5% Growth of home tests underestimates cases below. See above .
Jan. 7-13 - 9%
Jan. 14-20 - 15%
Jan. 21-27 - 9%
Jan. 28 - Feb. 3 - 31%
Feb. 3-10 - 3%
Feb. 11-24 (2 weeks) - 5%
Feb. 25- March 3 - 1%
March 4-10 - 1%
March 11-17 - 1%
March 18-24 - 0%
March 25-31 - 1%
Apr. 1-7 - 0%
Apr. 8-14 - 1%
Apr. 15-21 - 1%
Apr. 22-28 - 1%
Apr. 20 - May 5 - 1%
May 6-12 - 2%
May 13-19 - 3%
May 20 26 - 1%
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Fashion Street - This man, who went by the name Jimmy, is shown on the streets of downtown Santa Cruz.
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Labor History Calendar for May 27-June 2, 2022
May 27, 1980: 3,000 killed in Kwangju, Korea uprising.
May 27, 2011 Hundreds of police clear Indignadoes from Plaza de latalunya, Barcelona, who quickly returned to reoccupy.
May 28, 1871: Paris Commune crushed, 25,000 massacred.
May 28, 1946: Rochester, NY, general strike.
May 29, 1969: A revolt in Cordoba, Argentina that is touched off by shooting of of striking auto worker shakes the Pinochet dictatorship.
May 29, 2002: 30,000 port workers strike against union-busting in Bangladesh.
May 29, 2009: UAW auto workers accept deep concessions at GM because of US Congress demands.
May 30, 1937: Memorial Day Massacre at Chicago's Republic Steel plant; cops kill 10 and wound 30.
May 30, 1968: General strike against police brutality begins in Senegal.
May 30, 2013: Strikes for a living wage at dozens of Seattle fast food outlets.
May 31, 1819: Poet Walt Whitman born.
May 31, 1921: Sacco and Vanzetti trial begins.
May 31, 1925: Living Theater co-founder and Wobbly Julian Beck born.
June 1, 1903: 3,500 immigrant miners begin Clifton-Morenci, AZ copper strike.
June 1, 1922: National rail strike.
June 1,1985: Vancouver unemployed demand free bus service.
June 2, 1916: IWW Mesabi Range strike.
June 2, 1924: Supremem Court overturns law retricting child labor.
June 2, 2006: 80,000 march in support of striking teachers in Oaxaca, Mexico.
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“A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Macaroni and Cheese - aka a Pie Called Macaroni
By SARAH RINGLER
In a blast of fusion where foods from different cultures are commingled, I’m here to tell you, macaroni and cheese is in the house. Hula’s Hawaiian restaurant in downtown Santa Cruz makes theirs with jalapeños. Red Restaurant and Bar tops theirs with lobster, and the bar at Paradox, the old Holiday Inn on Ocean Street, adds bacon.
Here is a very creamy and cheesy macaroni and cheese adapted from a New York Times recipe a few years ago. It is more complicated than most mac and cheese recipes. The Kraft version has to be the easiest. Its 1937 slogan was, “make a meal for four in nine minutes.” But, is that orange stuff really cheese? Or, when was the last time it saw a cow?
The mixture is baked twice. It is a good way to use leftover combinations of cheeses. You don’t have to cook the pasta first. The recipe calls for dry mustard but prepared mustard can be substituted especially if you are using strong flavored cheeses. Coleman’s is the common commercial brand of dry mustard that has a distinct taste that I would recommend in this recipe. You can always grind you own seeds. Like hot sauces, there are many different brands so stick with what you prefer.
Pasta mixed with cheese recipes are recorded back in medieval Europe in a 14th century cookbook called “Liber de Coquina.” Fresh, hand-cut pasta was layered with butter and cheese like lasagna. The third president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, ate macaroni in both Paris and northern Italy in the late 1700s. He was so intrigued that he later brought it back here. In 1802, he served it with Parmesan cheese at a state dinner where it was called “a pie called macaroni.”
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup cottage cheese
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon dried mustard powder
pinch cayenne
pinch nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 pound cheese – sharp cheddar, pepper jack, Swiss or mix
½ pound elbow pasta, uncooked
2/3 cup wheat germ - optional
Heat oven to 375 degrees. Move the rack to the upper third of the oven. Butter a 9-inch round or square baking pan with 1 tablespoon of butter.
Get out the blender and combine the cottage cheese, milk, mustard, cayenne, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Purée until smooth. Put into a large bowl.
Grate the cheeses. Reserve ¼ cup for a topping and put the rest in the bowl with the puréed mixture. Next add the uncooked pasta to the bowl. Mix well.
Put the contents of the bowl into the 9 inch buttered pan. Cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven and stir gently. Cover with the ¼ cup of reserved grated cheese, sprinkle with wheat germ and dot with the remaining tablespoon of butter. Bake 30 minutes more uncovered until browned. Cool for at least 15 minutes before serving. 4 to 6 servings.
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Send your story, poetry or art here: 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
If you are enjoying the Serf City Times, forward it on to others. We need readers, artists, photographers and writers.
Thanks, Sarah Ringler
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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 © 2022 Sarah Ringler - All rights reserved
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