Re-imagining Public Safety: Establish an Alternative Emergency Response Program in Santa Cruz County
By SARAH RINGLER
In a continued effort to encourage the leaders of our county to provide better options than involving the police when there are non-violent, emergency situations, the Alternate Emergency Response Committee of the Santa Cruz Democratic Socialists of American ask you sign this petition.
As in a model presented recently by Crisis Assistance Helping Out On the Streets, CAHOOTS, of Eugene, Oregon, the petition asks the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to support the establishment of a team of two people, an EMT and another person trained to deal with mental health crises. These people would be able to respond to many of the welfare checks that are called into 911 that usually are passed on to law enforcement. It decriminalizes nonviolent behavior and saved money in Eugene. There is already some support on the County Board of Supervisors for this, but we need to show community support.
Oakland City Council unanimously voted Tuesday, according to Annie Sciacca in Thursday's San Jose Mercury, to set up specialized units of civilians under the charge of the Oakland Fire Department who can respond to mental health crisis and disorderly conduct in situations that are not violent or dangerous.
SCDSA is currently looking for more members for the DSA Alternate Emergency Response committee. They currently meet on zoom Wednesdays form 6-7pm. For more information, go to their website.
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Photo - Public Domain
A murder of crows socializing.
Caws & Effect - Finding a body on Portola Drive
By JAN MCGIRK
When I spotted a dead crow in the brambles by my mailbox last Friday, it felt like a bad omen and I started speculating on how it died. Was it electrocuted on the high voltage wires overhead, maybe, or did it gobble down a poisoned mouse? Swatted out of the sky by a red-tailed hawk? Hit by a drone or a car and tossed onto our property? Or was the poor creature banished by the family of crows, collectively known as a “murder,”that roosts high in the eucalyptus grove by Corcoran lagoon?
Research into corvid behavior reveals the crows’ social structure, their ability to communicate with dozens of distinctive sounds and their tendency to remember individual people who feed them or do them harm. If the local flock watched me handling a dead crow, would they pursue and harass me? Even behind my Covid-19 face mask, I was reluctant to be observed digging a crow’s grave in my front yard and to suffer the consequences. While Jane Mio, the tireless conservationist who patrols our San Lorenzo river, has a knack for dispersing a crow mob with her perfect “owl hiss,” I doubted that I could pull it off.
So I telephoned the county animal welfare shelter for advice. The sympathetic staff suggested I place the feathered corpse inside a plastic bag and toss it in the trash outdoors. But if I’d have to wait several days for garbage collection, I could drop it off and they would dispose of it.
A line of masked teenagers waiting for rescue puppies greeted me outside the animal shelter in Live Oak and seemed quite squeamish when they learned the contents of my plastic sack. I was asked to fill out a form for the disposal, and to include the animal’s name. (A. Crow, I wrote.) Finally, I submitted a Dead Bird Report to the California Department of Public Health so they can track the possible spread of the nasty West Nile Virus, which accounts for 45% of American crow deaths since 1999. (Mosquitoes can bite infected crows or jays, then bite people, spreading the disease.) You never know what will hit you out of a clear blue sky.
1001 Rodriguez St, Santa Cruz, CA 95062. Phone: 831-454-7200
Report a dead corvid online here.
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Learn More About the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County
By SARAH RINGLER
Join the Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County for their online Three Year Anniversary, April 9 from 3-5pm. Guest speakers, Jeannie Little, Patt Denning, Laura Guzman and Heather Edney will present their work and members will speak about the last three years and plans for the future. This is also a fundraiser and by buying a ticket, you support the essential work that the coalition does to work to eliminate preventable deaths due to drug use through a medical model that offers no question asked, anonymous services to those who request them.
Learn more and register here to buy your ticket. All money raised will be matched dollar for dollar.
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“All I wanna say it that
They don't really care about us.”
Michael Jackson
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
A Bewick’s wren pauses on a fence while gathering nest building materials in Santa Cruz. The small bird is commonly found in brushland, hedgerows, stream edges and open woods.
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ECONOMICS
Santa Cruz County Housing Report
Here is the Housing Inventory Snapshot for our county from Raeid Farhat Real Estate Inc. as of Feb. 28.
Single Family homes - The average list price: $1,170,017 (11.59%, 30-day trend) and average sold price - $1,039,294 (-6.54%, 30-day trend).
Luxury Family homes - Average list price: $3,540,050 (9.58%, 30-day trend) and average sold price: $2,646,429 (-12.40%, 30 day trend).
Condo/Townhomes: Average list price: $512,320 (10.37%, 30-day trend), and average sold price: $594,048 (21.23% 30-day trend)
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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. As of March 18, there have been 15,169 cases that tested positive. That is an increase of 2% from last Thursday. 197 people have now died, an increase of 3%.
Santa Cruz County moved into the Red Tier on March 10. Indoor retail and shopping centers may increase operation up to 50% capacity, restaurants, movie theaters and museums up to 25% capacity, gyms, and climbing walls and hotel fitness centers up to 10% For information, go here.
The county's Effective Reproductive Number is continuing to fall 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 - 56%/58%
Latinx - 35%/34%
Black - 1%/1%
Asian - 8%/4%
American Native - 1%/not available
%Deaths by gender/% of population:
Female - 52%/50%
Male - 48%/50%
Other - 0
Under Investigation - 0
Deaths by age/197:
30-39 - 2%
40-49 - 3%
50-59 - 2%
60-69 - 14%
70-79 - 21%
80-89 - 31%
90+ - 28%
Tested positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 21%/12%
North county - 19%/60%
South county - 59%/29%
Under investigation - 1%
Weekly increases in positive tests:
June 12-19 - 7%
June 19-26 - 23%
June 26 to July 3 - 22%
July 3-9 - 23%
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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 - 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%
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Labor History Calendar for March 19:
1948: 20,000 rally against Labour government efforts to crush rail strike in Brisbane, Australia.
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ThiPhoto by TARMO HANNULA
Leek and Lemon Fettucine
By SARAH RINGLER
I read once that there are olive trees in Greece that were alive in Plato’s time, 400 BCE, that are still producing olives and olive oil today. Olive oil is a tremendous food. It is versatile and can even be used as a soothing skin moisturizer. It is worth exploring its many flavors and uses. On one visit to Italy years ago, I saw a woman pouring olive oil over a piece of francese bread for breakfast.
If you like shopping local, Belle Farms on Peckham Road in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, produces a high quality olive oil. Steve and Marguerite Remde started the farm in 1997 and tested their skills with growing olive trees in the local Mediterranean climate of the Pajaro Valley. Their successful products are available at many stories and Farmers' Markets in the area.
The following dish is pure Mediterranean with the olive oil, capers, oregano and, of course, the Parmigiano Reggiano. If you have never cooked with leeks before, I have provided, I hope, good directions on preparing them. They have a very delicate taste even though they are in the onion family.
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed and minced
1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoons dried
3 large leeks
l lemon – finely grated rind
1 tablespoon drained capers
¾ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
1 cup flat leafed parsley, roughly chopped
1 teaspoons coarse salt
Ground black pepper
9 ounces fresh or dried fettucine
Prepare the leeks. Fill a large bowl with fresh cold water. Cut off about ½ inch at the bottom where the roots are. Then, cut off the tops where the color of the stalk begins to go a darker green – mostly use the white part. Cut each stalk into two lengths. Thinly slice into half rounds and put into the bowl of fresh water. After all the leeks are in the water, swish them around. Drain, wash and rinse again until there is no dirt at the bottom of the bowl.
Bring a large pot of salted water to boil for the pasta. Chop the garlic and the fresh oregano together.
Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large fry pan. Add the leeks, garlic and oregano. Sauté until the leeks are soft, transparent and the liquid has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.
By now the pasta water should be boiling. Add the pasta and cook until it is done. Drain the pasta into the frying pan reserving a ¼ cup of the pasta water in case you need it later.
Mix the pasta and the leek mixture. Add lemon rind, cheese and parsley to the pasta. Mix well. Add a little of the reserved pasta water in case the mixture is too dry. Serve immediately with more grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Serves 4.
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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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