Volume 4, Issue 22, Dec. 1, 2023 View as Webpage

Photo by SARAH RINGLER

The First Amendment

Two first amendment rights, freedom of speech and freedom of the press, converged over an online article in the Good Times weekly that appeared earlier in the week. It covered a pro-Israel march on Nov. 24; a quote from one of the marcher was considered Islamaphobic and provocative. A group of Palestinian supporters contacted the Good Times with demands and within 48 hours the article was taken down. Demands requested include that the article be taken down, journalists involved be held responsible and an public apology be issued; it also announced a press conference at the Good Times office on Wednesday. A rewritten version is now available. In Wednesday's print edition, Interim Editor Brad Kava published an explanation and response. On Wednesday morning, a group of about 60 people demonstrated in front of the the Good Times office in Santa Cruz - see photo above. They stated that they supported freedom of the press but requested that the press be sensitive to any language that may incite violence such as what happened to the 6-year-old boy and his mother who were stabbed multiple times in Chicago by their landlord - the boy died. Also, three Palestinian men shot on the streets of Vermont.

Workplace Freedom of Speech Issues Over Israel and Gaza

Despite Intimidation, Union Voice Get Louder for Ceasefire in Gaza

By KEITH BROWER BROWN AND CAITLN CLARK Courtesy of Labor Notes Oct. 31, 2023

In the U.S. and across the world, hundreds of thousands of people have taken the streets to protest Israel’s assault on Gaza, which has killed at least 8,300 Palestinians, including 3,300 children, since Oct. 7. On Oct. 27, the United Nations called for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce.”

In the U.S., those protesting Israel’s attacks have faced a wave of repression by employers.

Management retaliation has struck journalists and academics. Michael Eisen, editor-in-chief of the open-access science journal eLife, was fired after sharing a satirical article from The Onion that criticized media responses to the loss of Palestinian life. Jackson Frank, a sports writer for PhillyVoice, was fired after criticizing a pro-Israel post by the Philadelphia 76ers.

After publishing and signing a letter of prominent artists and critics for a ceasefire, to stop an “escalating genocide,” Artforum Editor-in-Chief David Velasco was fired after 18 years at the magazine and six in that role. Three other editors resigned from the high-profile magazine in protest.

The National Writers Union is documenting such cases—both to connect writers with individual support, and to push for industry-wide reforms.

Meanwhile in Gaza, at least 25 journalists have been killed by Israeli airstrikes.

Cover for union busting

After Starbucks Workers United posted a message of solidarity with Palestine on X (formerly Twitter) Oct. 9, Starbucks executives sued the union in federal court. The lawsuit demands that Starbucks Workers United stop using the union’s current name and logo on the grounds of trademark infringement.

In a letter published in In These Times, Workers United President Lynne Fox says, “Starbucks saw an opportunity to capitalize on the horrific and tragic events in the Middle East to further its unprecedented, illegal union busting campaign, trying to bully workers into abandoning their union name and logo.” The union has countersued.

Starbucks now finds itself the target of a consumer boycott from both ends—pro-Israel customers blaming Starbucks for the union’s statements, and pro-Palestine customers protesting its attack on the union.

Leveling Up

In Olympia, Washington, the Thurston-Lewis-Mason Central Labor Council voted unanimously for a resolution against “any union involvement in the production or transportation of weapons destined for Israel,” and called for “our parent federation [the AFL-CIO] to also publicly support an immediate ceasefire and equal rights for Palestinians and Israelis.”

A library worker and delegate who co-wrote and organized for the resolution, who asked to be identified as Alice, said the demands were “inspired by the call from Palestinian unions to unions around the world” to stop labor from backing the assault on Gaza. A group of delegates has started researching connections between local unions and the Israeli military, particularly in nearby ports.

The national AFL-CIO pushed back. On Monday, a field rep emailed council officers saying “your resolution goes beyond the position that the AFL-CIO has taken. Please let me know if you intend to retract the resolution.” Alice said she was told not to talk to the press.

By the end of the week, the Council president yielded to the push from the national office, and posts about the resolution were taken down.

“It’s just unbelievable to me that they would pressure us like this,” Alice said. “Local labor councils and unions speaking up is how we show the leadership where the rank and file is at.” A few Thurston-Lewis-Mason delegates have been asking other regional councils and union locals to pass resolutions standing with them.

“I’m hoping we can put some pressure on the AFL-CIO to back off, and even endorse a ceasefire, the position that so many international unions have come to, from Ireland, Canada, the U.K.,” Alice said. Regional or national union federations in those countries have passed calls for a ceasefire or an end to Israel’s occupation.

In the past week 27,000 labor activists have signed a letter calling on top U.S. union leaders to “break your silence” and push for a ceasefire.

The national AFL-CIO statement from October 11 closed with a call “to end the bloodshed of innocent civilians, and to promote a just and long-lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.”

The New York Times reported on October 27 that Postal Workers (APWU) President Mark Dimondstein, who described himself as an “anti-Zionist Jew,” was a lone voice on the AFL-CIO executive council pushing others to stand for a ceasefire. He spoke for 30 minutes in the council meeting, the Times reported.

Repression, an old foe

Retaliation for political speech is nothing new. In 2011, National Public Radio fired host Lisa Simeone after she was quoted in the press as an activist with a local Occupy Wall Street group. NPR claimed it was against policy for employees to take public stances on anything related to coverage. CNN fired commentator Marc Lamont Hill in 2018 after he called for “a free Palestine from the river to the sea” in a speech delivered at the United Nations’ International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People. Grocery workers, retail workers, transit workers, and postal workers have fought disciplines and firings since 2020 over the right to wear Black Lives Matter buttons and masks. Some eventually won, especially when they fought with union backing. In 2020, editors at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette barred scores of journalists from any coverage of Black Lives Matter protests. Reporter Alexis Johnson’s initial infraction was a personal tweet poking fun at critics who said the protests caused a public mess, by joking a Kenny Chesney tailgate party caused even more ruckus. After editors barred Johnson from covering anti-racist marches, 100 co-workers posted in support of her. Editors barred them, too.

Locals Step Up

Despite the current crackdown on criticism of Israel’s actions, a handful of union locals have passed calls for ceasefire and solidarity.

In Austin, Texas, Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 520 passed a resolution at its membership meeting to sign on to the ceasefire letter started by the United Electrical Workers (UE) international and Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 3000.

Electrician apprentice Dave Pinkham, one of the members who brought the motion, talked to members across the local to build support. “The main question that came up was, ‘What does this have to do with us?’” says Pinkham. “We made an appeal to humanity: ‘U.S. military support to Israel is supporting violence there. Let’s stop.’ That worked.”

Along with these Texans, eight other labor organizations have added their name to the ceasefire letter, including the San Antonio educators and school staff, Restaurant Workers United, and the Auto Workers' western regional leadership.

On Tuesday, top leaders of the Painters (IUPAT) put out their own call for a ceasefire. IUPAT President Jimmy Williams wrote on X, “It is the duty of all working people to stand up and say enough. A conflict of this magnitude cannot be fixed by bombs and bullets.”

The board of Longshore Workers Local 5 in Oregon, which includes workers in bookshops, early childhood education, and animal clinics, put out a ceasefire statement that says, “The ILWU’s long history of social justice activism and solidarity with oppressed people around the world is part of what drew the original organizers of Local 5 to the ILWU in the first place.” In recent decades, Longshore Workers at Oakland and British Columbia ports have refused to unload cargo from Israeli ships, honoring picket lines and boycotts.

A new rank-and-file campaign, WGA for Peace, is pushing for the Writers Guild to resist the lead of the Director’s Guild (DGA) and SAG-AFTRA in releasing statements of support for Israel. A group of high-profile members of the Guild had asked the Guild to condemn the October 7 attacks. A WGA for Peace representative said the group worried the statements would fuel “a one-sided narrative that would lead to the escalating genocide in Palestine that we’re witnessing today. As mostly lower to mid-level workers, we knew that if we were going to be successful we would have to show collective force publicly,” said the representative, who asked to remain anonymous. WGA for Peace published their own open letter, now signed by members of the Animation Guild (IATSE-TAG), the Directors Guild, and SAG-AFTRA calling on their unions to retract statements uncritically supporting Israel’s actions.

In California, the board of the Oakland Education Association called for an immediate ceasefire, organizing a rally with other unions and sharing curriculum and other resources for teachers. “We have large groups of students who come from Yemen, as well as Palestine and other parts of the Middle East,” said kindergarten teacher Olivia Udovic, a board member. “At my daughter’s high school, students helped lead a teach-in and walked out last Friday. A middle school is holding a circle for Muslim, Jewish, and Arab-American students to process what’s happening together.

“I’d say times like this are a time to show our students how understanding current events is critical—and we have responsibilities, especially when it’s our government that’s funding so much of the atrocities we’re seeing on the news.

“That’s what it means to address the sadness and anger that many of us are experiencing right now. For younger people, it’s even harder to understand the why, and even more important to provide spaces to do something, to not just sit in grief.”

Harm Reduction Coalition Hits a Problem

Contributed by HARM REDUCTION COALITION OF SANTA CRUZ COUNTY

It is with very heavy hearts that we bring you harsh news of program changes. As many of you know, we have been in litigation for several years, first winning in the lawsuit against us, and then losing when our opponents appealed. As we were preparing for our case to be heard once more in the Trial Court under new definitions of the law, we received an unexpected Peremptory Writ of Mandate that removed our California Department of Public Health (CDPH) authorization to operate with syringe and safer-smoking supply distribution.

Our outreach is continuing with Medication Assisted Therapy navigation services, and distribution of Naloxone, safer-sex supplies, Fentanyl test strips and wound care support, and we are still welcoming volunteers (including for community service) at outreach and for at-home supply prep. We will be working in tandem with the county program, providing transportation multiple days a week to their SSP, to help alleviate some of the hardship this transition is causing.

This status is in no way permanent, but this temporary shift in services has immediate and devastating consequences for our community. Our primary concerns are the health and safety of our participants, especially our South County folks who have disproportionate access to resources. We wish to ensure that no one is forced to share or reuse supplies. HRCSCC is in close contact with our health officer, Dr. Lisa Hernandez, as well as CDPH and other community partners to collaboratively seek out solutions in this time.

Upon this news, we immediately sent in a new application for re-authorization to CDPH. There will soon be a 45-day public comment period open, in which we will send out notification to our community via email and social media. There will be a link to a portal with a box to check simply oppose or support, and an area to add further comment. When this moment comes, we ask that you please respond, sharing far and wide; we want to flood the comments with as much support as possible. The team from the Harm Reduction Unit within the Office of AIDS at CDPH will be required to consult with all Police Chiefs and Sheriffs, and your voice of support will help solidify our permanence.

We are grateful to our granters for protecting our funding in the interim, and to our community for the outpouring love and care we are receiving. We will not be shut down. Although we are gravely disappointed in the court's decision and with the coordinated attack against us and the Office of AIDS, we know they are the minority and that our resiliency can only generate greater strength. We look forward to being fully operational in the months to come and will keep fighting and creatively connecting our participants to the services and care they deserve.

If you’re looking for ways to support us at this time, please consider a donation for our legal fund, or for quality-of-life items like tents/blankets/tarps to buffer this more difficult season. With our outreach shifting, our harm reduction kit preparation is more crucial than ever. No donation of time or money is too small. If both are sparse, we understand and love you all the same! Speaking to your neighbors and family about the importance of harm reduction and what it means to you is a gift itself. For information, click HERE.

Proposed map from 1967.

Campaign for Sustainable Transportation Calls for a Highway Revolt

By RICK LONGINOTTI

The first highway revolt followed the 1967 plan to extend Highway 17 through Santa Cruz. You can see on the map above the three routes under consideration: one through Pogonip, one parallel to Mission Street, and one at California Street. In addition, the plan called for a loop to the Boardwalk, running down Ocean Street. and Chestnut Street. All routes would have required extensive demolition in residential neighborhoods.

The highway revolt is now in full flower across California, sparked by Caltrans removing whistleblower Jeanie Ward Waller from her job. See "I lost my job for speaking out against highway widening". Groups across the state are calling Caltrans to live up to our climate and social equity goals.

Our Senator John Laird is key to holding Caltrans accountable. Please sign the email to Senator Laird (and paste the text below in a second email to Governor Newsom.) Thanks for carrying the torch in this worthwhile revolt.

Go to the contact page for Governor Newsom and paste the following:

Dear Governor,

We in Santa Cruz County experience the impact of Caltrans' distorted priorities. We have among the highest rate of injuries to pedestrians and biyclists in the state, and a transit system struggling to meet our needs, which Caltrans is engaged in widening Highway 1 in what the EIR states is a futile effort to reduce congestion.

Demoting Jeanie Ward-Waller is an example of the problem at Caltrans. Please work to audit Caltrans to uncover the ways in which that agency is undermining state climate goals. And please work to re-prioritize transportation funding in order to meet our needs for socially equitable access. Thank you.

Is Artificial Intelligence Either Artificial Or Intelligent?

BY LARRY BENSKY - NOV. 26, 2023

You say yes, it’s artificial because it is presented in nonhuman expressions. You say no it’s not artificial because you read somewhere that it isn’t, though you don’t remember where you read it.

Is AI intelligent? You say yes because it can look up sources for quotes faster than you or anyone you know or have known. You say no because if it were really intelligent it would be able to win chess matches against Grand Masters or would be able to cheat and win them in ways no Grand Master could detect.

Once you begin to worry and doubt things said about AI in news reports you, upon reflection, conclude that because AI itself doesn’t express worries and doubts it is like a big cartoon movie by Wes Anderson. Entertaining. Funny/ironic. Real enough to be thought-provoking. But fleeting.

In the real world AI isn’t on your worry list. Which may include whether you are assured eternal life if you believe in god. Or why gas costs are roughly the same everywhere in your home state. Or what happens if cryptocurrency makes all financial instruments inoperative: cash, credit cards, checks; and you can’t buy food?

And then, as AI becomes front page news, when it emerges that one of its designers, Sam Altman, has suddenly been fired but may be quickly rehired, it becomes impossible to comprehend. All those doing the hiring and firing are mega-millionaires or billionaires (their true wealth is hidden behind secretive property and banking structures).

The good grey purveyor of intriguing factoids on such matters tells us that AI’s backers are split about Altman. The New York Times says some erstwhile Altmanites are followers of “Effective Altruism.” Others believe the best chance at an “altruistic” outcome is to make as much money as possible. (Sam Bankman-Fried, who advocated for such, was found guilty of lying about what he was doing, and now faces many years in federal prison as a result.)

AI doesn’t care what happens to Altman, Bankman-Fried, and all their Thrones, Dominions, Princedoms (and Princessdoms) and Powers.

AI doesn’t “know” things; it just amasses factoids of human knowledge. It is designed by mathematicians and constructed by engineers to refine thoughts and build outcomes.

AI doesn’t care if one of its creators (an Altman associate), says she wants to slow its growth because some day “it could lead to human extinction.”

AI can’t follow who among humans is concerned about extinction. Occasional alarms about global warming and its offsprings - death of species, newly or variantly present human diseases, crop failures, massive fires and droughts, are of no concern to AI. Nor is the massive depression created by all of these.

“Get thee to a psychologist” seems to be the remedy amongst the AI crew. “What, me worry?” seems the electoral response, busy dispensing mega-billions without a visible thought to how AI is further enabled by the funding.

Is there an alternative response?

Once again I recommend the newly released movie, now on Netflix, “Rustin.” In 1963, as now, a movement necessary for human survival grew and flourished. Opposition was vicious, deadly, and widespread. Individual trauma involving such essential matters as sexuality were divisive.

My advice? Don’t throw away communication devices like cellphones, any more then we activists did with telephones back then. Don’t avoid social media, any more than we activists destroyed typewriters and mimeograph machines back then.

Know the law, as we activists did back then. Enable and support the righteous and courageous among us. They’ve always been there. AI won’t care, it can’t. Humanity can. I hope it will!

(Larry Bensky welcomes comments: LBensky@ igc.org.)

Warming Center is Back and Sorely Needed

By BRENT ADAMS

Warming Wednesdays, our robust materials distribution program is in full swing. People can access blankets, jackets, tents, clothing, shoes, hygiene supplies, as well as cold and wet weather support gear 12-3pm Wednesdays at the levee-side of 150 Felker St. Santa Cruz

Our Homeless Emergency Information Hotline 246-1234 will be updated with weather news and info regarding emergency shelters and how to access them.

Materials distribution truck and emergency trouble spot response. We're depending on you to help us propel these life-saving endeavors.

We need street clothing and shoes, all rain and cold-weather gear, blankets, tents, etc. Donation Barrels are located at:

REI Sports, Commercial Way (next to Marshall's)
150 Felker St., Santa Cruz

We also need monetary donations. To donate online: Click Here. Mail. money to: Warming Center Program, PO Box 462, Santa Cruz, 95061

Our mission remains: "We work to reduce the experience of hypothermia and the occurrence of death among those who sleep outside."

Our office is at 150 Felker St. Santa Cruz. Our Website.

Not Till the Cat Lady Sings

--for Patrice Elaine Miller (1952-2023)

By WOODY REHANEK

"When everything's made to be broken,

I just want you to know who I am."

--Johnny Rzeznik

You were just 17 when I met you,

so fresh & so smart & so young.

The years streaked by like meteorites

mixed with sweat & teardrops & blood.

You were a white organdy goddess

sheathed in the trappings of youth,

& I was a lost college dropout

I thought we had nothing to lose.

When Lise was a baby, I ruined it,

there's no one to blame but me.

& now I just have to own it,

it's too late to take back such things.

Some moments are hardest to measure,

like dancing with death looking on.

Her heart beating light as a feather,

& time is slow-walking its song.

The skyline is scribbled & scrambled,

& Day-of-the-Dead orange abides:

tangerine, honey, & amber,

persimmon & marmalade spice...

Maravilla/marigold/flor de muerto,

echoing death's layered themes.

Scarlet are wounds that enfold us,

& gold are the colors that heal.

You had Cyndi Lauper's true colors

dovetailed with Joni's deep blue.

Finding a place by the river,

you threaded the needle on through.

The seasons were gathered around you,

Indian summer's extravagant flair.

Then spirits circled around you,

& you just couldn't come up for air.

A clay-footed, deep-rooted dreamer

forging flower fandangos in gold.

Reality's not that much use out here

but there's magic in canyons below.

Now your time on this earth is ending,

& you curl up with Willie the cat.

What's unfinished now hangs suspended,

like dust in the rafters--like that.

Ashes drift up to the heavens, & dust

drifts down into dust. In the intricate

patterns of birth & death, we become

all the things that we loved.

Scrub jays on ramshackle railings

& crows moving into the slack.

Neighbors come by with kind sayings

but we all know it won't bring you back.

Now time & space are distorted,

silver sundogs inhabit the sky.

Our pathways in life got all tangled

& now it's too late to ask why.

Knee deep in the heart of the ruins

together we stumble & fall,

yet affection & acceptance fuel us,

& an arc of redemption calls.

So we try to distribute the weight

so none of us fall through the cracks.

It all depends how you look at things

because none of it's going to last.

Now I know you've already crossed over,

with the hollowed-out feelings it brings.

A cat camouflaged in the clover,

it's not done till the cat lady springs.

It's not done till the cat lady dreams,

it's not done till the cat lady sings.

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

"There is no death. Only a change

of worlds." --Chief Seattle

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

"When dark storm clouds gathered over

the half-finished roof, my mother would

take a steak knife from the kitchen to cut

the rain away." --Raquel Vasquez Gilliland

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

"...An expanding Universe, all bound

together by the elastic strings of time."

--John Steinbeck

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

Samba Cruz Concert, Farm Tour, and Potluck at Whiskey Hill Farms

Dec. 2, 4-7:30pm

371 Calabasas Road, Watsonville

Events:

4pm: Tour of Tropical Forest Organic Farm

4:30pm: Potluck - please bring healthy food & drinks to share

5:30pm: Samba Cruz Concert with musicians Pablo Riviere, guitar and vocals; Vivian Simon on flute, Patrice Wallace on upright bass and Joe Mailloux on drums.

$20 suggested donation. Limited overnight accommodations are available. Click HERE to email for information. Photo contributed.

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

An American crow uses an ornamental concrete ball as a sounding post on Pacific Avenue in downtown Santa Cruz.

Santa Cruz County Covid-19 Report

By SARAH RINGLER

The California Department of Public Health reports on Covid-19 for the Santa Cruz County Health Department. They regularly release data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county. Since cases are still appearing, and there are still vulnerable people, I will continue reporting the graphs below.

At-home Covid-19 test kits that were sent free from the government earlier are now expiring. The program that started in Jan. 2022 has distributed 600 million test kits. If you still have those tests, before using, check the date on your box or go HERE to get more information. Over a month ago, the Biden administration announced that it will provide four free tests per household that will be delivered by the US Postal Service. Go HERE to order.

The state's website reports that the current total of confirmed Covid deaths in Santa Cruz County is at 339, unchanged since Nov.16.

The three graphs below give a picture of what is happening as of Nov 29. The first graph below shows the Rt Number. Numbers above one show 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. This graph shows wastewater level to be below Center for Disease Control's moderate risk threshold.

The third graph below shows hospitalizations. Click to see more information on hospitalizations HERE.

The vaccination data for the county has stayed fairly constant increasing very little over time. Go HERE for new information on vaccination records, treatments, vaccines, tests, safety in the workplace and more.

Photo Contributed

Fashion Street - A man waves the Palestinian flag at a march in San Francisco last Saturday.

Labor History Calendar - Dec. 1-7, 2023

a.k.a Know Our History Lest We Forget

Dec. 1, 1930: Kellogg cereal adopts 6-hour work day.

Dec. 1, 1955: Rosa Parks keeps her bus seat after a hard day’s work.

Dec. 1, 2011: Greek General Strike against austerity – “Make the Rich Pay.”

Dec. 2, 1859: John Brown hanged.

Dec. 2, 1990: Two-day general strike shuts down Israel.

Dec. 3, 1866: Textile strikers win 10-hour day in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Dec. 3, 1910: IWW union Brotherhood of Timber Workers organized.

Dec. 3, 1946: General strike in Oakland.

Dec. 3, 1997: Jobless requisition food from luxury hotel in Montreal.

Dec. 4, 1969: Chicago police kill Black Panther Fred Hampton.

Dec. 5, 1955: Anti-segregation bus boycott begins in Montgomery.

Dec. 5, 2008: Republic Windows workers seize factory to prevent shut-down.

Dec. 5, 2013: Thousands of fast food workers strike across the US.

Dec. 6, 1907: 361 coal miners killed at Monougah, West Virginia.

Dec. 7, 1918: 100,000 textile workers strike in Lancashire, UK.

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

“People cited violation of the First Amendment when a New Jersey schoolteacher asserted that evolution and the Big Bang are not scientific and that Noah's ark carried dinosaurs. This case is not about the need to separate church and state; it's about the need to separate ignorant, scientifically illiterate people from the ranks of teachers.”

Neil deGrasse Tyson

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Fancy Woven Leftover Turkey Pie

By SARAH RINGLER

If you have leftover turkey, this is a good recipe that might even taste better than the bird itself. You can use other meats and vegetables too. The pastry is not difficult. It comes together and rolls out easily. The pie freezes well and reheats easily for a quick dinner.

I got the recipe years ago from one of those Tupperware-like party events called Pampered Chef. A teacher I worked with held an event in her home, a representative from the company came and prepared a nice dish, this one for example, and then we bought a bunch of kitchen products. I really fell for it and bought a pizza stone, a food thermometer, a pizza cutter, an egg separator, and maybe even more things. I still use all of them today.

Turkey in Pastry

3 ½ cups cooked shredded turkey or chicken breast

3 ½ cups grated Jarlsberg cheese

½ cup minced onion

2-3 cups grated zucchini or broccoli

½ cup lightly toasted and chopped almonds

1 egg beaten and mixed with a little water for basting the pastry

Salt and ground pepper

Pastry:

2 ½ cups flour

½ teaspoon salt

1 egg

1 cup butter

2 tablespoons sugar

Ice water

Cut the butter into the flour. Add the egg and enough ice water to make a ball that sticks together. Knead for about 3 minutes adding flour as necessary. Chill for one hour.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Remove the pastry dough from the refrigerator and put on a floured surface. Roll into a large rectangle about 18 inches by 10 inches. Down each of the long sides of the dough, cut a fringe that is about 3 inches long and 1 ½ inches wide.

In a large bowl, mix the shredded chicken, grated zucchini, chopped almonds, minced onions, cheese and salt and pepper to taste.

In the middle part of the dough, spread the chicken mixture evenly from the top to the bottom. Take a strip of fringe from each side and join it to the opposite fringe by pinching the dough together. Place on a cookie tin. When you have connected both sides, baste with the egg and water mixture. Bake for about 30 minutes. Serves 6.

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

Send comments to coluyaki@gmail.com

If you are enjoying the Serf City Times, forward it on to others. We need readers, artists, photographers and writers.

Subscribe, contact or find back issues at the website https://serf-city-times.constantcontactsites.com

Thanks, Sarah Ringler

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.