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PHOTO BY TARMO HANNULA
A few individuals gathered on Coral St. in Santa Cruz, where Housing Matters has its facitilities and where tents and impromptu shelters had formed along side of and in the street. This photo is from Wednesday after Monday's sweep of the encampment. Many who had moved their belonging around the block to Fern St. found those items cleared on Tuesday with belongings confiscated.
Robert Norse Questions Housing Matters on Sweeps
BY SARAH RINGLER
Robert Norse has been active in homeless issues for many decades and has been tireless in objecting to the mistreatment of people who cannot afford housing in Santa Cruz and are forced to live outside. Most are locals; 75%-89% lived in the county when they became homeless according to the 2022 and 2023 Point-In-Time Counts conducted by Santa Cruz in the beginning of the year. He has fought against the destruction of camps by police at the request of city government. He advocates for services that can truly help people find a place to live.
Norse asks, "Why has Housing Matter been silent as survival camps everywhere were destroyed without alternatives?"
Monday's surprise sweep of the encampment on Coral St. between where two Housing Matters facilites are located happened right outside their doors. No alternative sites were provided and people were left to wander shocked and confused.
It comes only three weeks after Housing Matters held a march in downtown Santa Cruz titled "Let's March to End Homelessness." Before the march, tow trucks drove through downtown scooping up vehicles along the parade route, in one case ignoring a cloth-covered Porsche on Maple St. because, the tow truck driver said they, "knew the owner was out of town." Around 300 people joined the march. Cars did not need to be towed, at least on Maple St..
Last week's article in Serf City Times questioned Housing Matters' expenditures. As a non-profit and the largest organization that addresses homelessness in Santa Cruz, it spends 54% of its budget on staffing and 23% on services. Charity Navigator, a reputable website that rates non-profits and charities generally considers that an effective charity spends 70% of its revenue on program. Last year Housing Matters expanded its staff to 95 and predicted that it would help 400 people find housing by the end of the year. That works out to about four people per year for each of the staff of 95. Their high staffing numbers are obviously not getting many people into housing.
Housing Matters needs to answer to its donors —46% of its money comes from community donations and 46% comes government grant. It also needs to answer to the community it purports to serve. Their mission, as stated on their website is "Housing Matters partners with individuals and families to create pathways out of their homelessness and into permanent housing. We hold firmly to a vision that homelessness in Santa Cruz County should be rare, brief and non-recurring." Allowing sweeps right outside their own doors without offering alternative places to go makes their mission statement a sham and shines the light on another of Norse's accusation that it has no "pathway to housing but a revolving door to the street for most."
I'm waiting to hear back from Phil Kramer, Chief Executive Office of Housing Matters. You may also try and contact him HERE.
Most of us know that it is difficult to find affordable housing in Santa Cruz. I would hope that any agency that wants to help with this problem be honest address the issues upfront; we have a human crisis in this town.
Robert Norse has more questions that will be addressed in the future. He holds meetings of HUFF (Homeless United for Friendship & Freedom) every Thursday 1:30-3:30pm at the Sub Rosa Café, 703 Pacific next to the Bike Church.
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Good News on Santa Cruz Bus Service
BY SARAH RINGLER
Santa Cruz Metro introduced "Reimagine METRO" in December 2023 with the goal of increasing riders by updating bus routes so that they are easier to use and offer more frequent service. The program is showing success.
- Overall ridership is up by 23%
- UCSC ridership is up by 27.1%
- Cabrillo College ridership is up by 26.8%
- K-12 ridership is up by an astounding 147.6%, thanks to the Youth Cruz Free program.
Thanks to the community’s support and METRO's commitment to providing efficient, innovative, and sustainable transit solutions, starting June 20, improvements will be added with METRO's summer service. Summer service will include 15 minute service on Route 1, and 30 minute service on the HWY 17 Express and the 90X between Watsonville and Santa Cruz. For information, visit this link.
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Japanese Cultural Fair 2024, June 8
BY SARAH RINGLER
The Japanese Cultural Fair will be held Saturday, June 8 from 11am-6pm at Mission Plaza Park in Santa Cruz. The purpose of the fair, according to The Bridge, the newsletter for the Watsonville-Santa Cruz Japanese American Citizens League flyer, is "to increase awareness and understanding of Japanese culture and through exposure and education improve mutual understanding among neighbors of the Pacific Rim and enrich the community of Santa Cruz."
The food, crafts, clothing and performances are first class and well worth the visit.
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Moving Trains
Reception for the Artists
Sunday, June 9, 2-5 pm
Studio Judy G
430 Main St.,
Watsonville
BY SARAH RINGLER
Studio Judy G presents All Aboard, an exhibition created by more than a dozen world renown and local artists that honors the magnificence of trains.
All Aboard exhibits the possibility of a new Santa Cruz passenger train. Our tracks are in place and will run from Pajaro to Santa Cruz along the stunning scenic coast. Our branch line will also connect to Amtrak that transports people up and down the West Coast as well as connecting people to the entire United States.
Studio Judy G will also host two artists in residence: in June, Helen Dang, scientist, artist, and map maker and in July, Stephen Mallon, photographer of Moving Freight. A portion of sales will be contributed to Coast Futura and Friends of Rail and Trail, promoting clean rail transit.
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Santa Cruz Juneteenth
CONTRIBUTED BY SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BRANCH NAACP
Santa Cruz Juneteenth celebrates Black Liberation and Freedom through embracing our shared Black culture. Join us for a day of Arts from the Diaspora, delicious soul food, craft booths, kids activities, a second line parade and a basketball skills contest.
In 1991, Raymond Evans, then Assistant Director of the Louden Nelson Center, introduced Juneteenth to Santa Cruz. As a Texas native, Evans was surprised by the lack of Juneteenth recognition in Santa Cruz, and aimed to bring the celebration's sense of community and pride to the city. The festivities at Louden Nelson Community Center have since been a great success, thanks to their diverse offerings. The event also honors former slave London "Louden" Nelson, a local legend known for his generosity to the school system, who has been a cultural symbol in Santa Cruz for over a century.
Juneteenth marks the day the last group of enslaved African Americans learned that they were free on June 19, 1866. Even though the Emancipation Proclamation was made effective 1863, there was difficulty getting it implemented in places that were still under Confederate control. When some 200 Union troops came to Galveston Bay, Texas, and announced that the 250,000 enslaved blacks were liberated by executive decree. It was a jubilee. That day is known as Juneteenth, and is African American Independence Day.
Juneteenth is now a federal holiday. You can learn more about America's second Independence day here.
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How Robots Help Tech Challenged Older People - Like Me
CARTOON BY ELIZABETH WILLIAMS
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Free Advice in Fragile Times
BY WOODY REHANEK
Jettison shadows, linger in light.
Dodge devils & fools.
Embrace angels & kites.
Use kindness as an abiding tool.
Resist scarecrows & shadows.
Follow the arc of the sun.
Except for truth, all things
change—in the cards & for everyone.
Sidestep persons without honor
& teach scarecrows how to dance.
Immerse in reverence, forgiveness
& forbearance—values that last.
All suffering fades. Give thanks.
Don't touch your face!
Splendor is our legacy.
May we shelter in place, gingerly
with gratitude...in gravitas...& with grace.
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
A peacock annoucing its presence in the parking lot at Casa de Fruta in March.
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Santa Cruz County Covid-19 Report - Rt rises above 1 Fourth Week in a Row
By SARAH RINGLER
The California Department of Public Health and Santa Cruz County Health Department regularly release data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county as well as information on influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and Mpox. Since cases of Covid are still appearing, and there are still vulnerable people, I will continue reporting the graphs below.
At-home Covid-19 test kits are currently available at the Watsonville Public Library, Main St.
The three graphs below were updated on June 5 .
The first graph is the Effective Reproductive Number. When the line rises above one, it shows that 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.
The third graph below shows hospitalizations.
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Photo TARMO HANNULA
Fashion Street - Pro-Palestinan demonstrators blocking the entrance to UCSC last week.
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Labor History Calendar - June 7-13, 2024
a.k.a Know Our History Lest We Forget
June 7, 1904: Militia sent to Cripple Creek County to suppress Western Federation of Miners strike.
June 7, 1913: IWW Pageant of Paterson Silk Strike performed at Madison Square Gardens, NYC.
June 7, 1968: Women workers strike Ford, demanding equal pay in England.
June 8, 1847: British 10 Hour Act for women and children.
June 8, 1904 Militia kill six striking miners in Dunnville, Colorado.
June 8, 1956: Polish workers revolt in Poznan.
June 9, 1902: Anti-anarchist law passed in Washington.
June 10, 1912: General strike of British transport workers.
June 11, 1872: Unions legalized in Canada.
June 11, 1913: Cops shoot at Black and White IWW/AFL maritime workers striking United Foods in New Orleans killing one and wounding two.
June 12, 1917: 260 die in Butte mine disaster and 14,000 strike for safe conditions.
June 12, 1968: Unions win 12-day general strike against poverty and police repression in Senegal.
June 13, 1925: Angry miners burn three company stores in Nova Scotia.
Labor History Calendar has been published yearly by the Hungarian Literature Fund since 1985.
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Sesame Snapper
By SARAH RINGLER
If you have access to freshly caught fish, you are luckier than the richest and most powerful people in the world. The key to the best fish is freshness and even money can’t change that.
Prices of fresh seafood have risen dramatically over the last few years. Demand is high but even more importantly, supplies are down. To continue to be able to enjoy this resource from our nearby Pacific Ocean, humans have to take action. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is studying our oceans and has come up with suggestions for the kinds of seafood that they recommend we should buy.
There are four areas of concern. The first category is called by-catch; one fourth of all sea animals caught are discarded into the ocean, dead or dying. The animals are discarded because they are not the kind the fishers want, have no market value or the boat is too small.
The second problem is habitat damage that makes it impossible for a sea animal to live in an area any longer. Some sea animals like young cod live in rocky areas on the ocean floor. Sea scallops, sole and halibut like to nestle in the sand. Pacific rockfish like to live in kelp forests that have roots anchored to rocks on the ocean floor. Some fishing boats drag heavily weighted nets along the bottom of the ocean floor to catch their target. This destroys sea floors and can take, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium, centuries to grow away.
The third problem is over-fishing, which means that fish are being caught faster than they can reproduce. Chilean sea bass live 40 years. A Pacific rockfish was caught in 2001 that was 205 years old. Between 1950 and 1994, the number of fishing boats has doubled and the amount of the fish caught has increased by four times. In 1989, the amount of fish caught has leveled off at 82 million metric tons of fish per year. This is one cause of the collapse of the fishing industry in many parts of the world leaving communities destitute like the one I lived in, years ago, on Cormorant Island off the northern coast of Vancouver Island.
The final problem may seem like a solution, fish farms. For some seafood like oysters, clams or mussels, farming is ecologically sound. But many fish farms have large pens that are anchored offshore. To maximize production, fish are crowded together and then given antibiotics to control diseases that come from living so closely together. Feces from these fish and non-native farm fish escaping from the pens pollute the surrounding oceans, lakes and straits killing off native fish. A friend of mine who worked at a salmon fish farm off of the Johnston Straits in British Columbia said he’d never eat a farm fish because of all the welts and growths he’d seen on them.
Here is a short list that the Monterey Bay Aquarium has come up with that will allow you to enjoy seafood without contributing to the problems above: Alaskan wild salmon, Black Cod from Alaska or BC, White Seabass, California sardines, striped bass, Black Rockfish, Pacific Cod, wild Pollack, Dungeness crab, spiny lobster, farmed abalone, farmed clams, farmed Bay Scallops, farmed Tilapia and farmed Rainbow Trout. The complete printable list is available at HERE.
1 pound red snapper, cod or any rockfish – enough for 2 people
1 egg
1 tsp. hot sauce like Bufalo, Tapatio or Tabasco sauce
3/4 cup white flour
½ cup sesame seeds
Salt and pepper
Olive oil or any cooking oil with a little butter added for flavor if desired
Get out two pie tins. In one beat an egg with the hot sauce. In the other mix up the flour, sesame seeds, salt and pepper.
Wash the fish and dry it. Heat a cast iron fry pan on medium and add the cooking oil. When the oil is glossy add a little butter, if desired, and then the fish. Cook until golden brown and then flip to cook other side. Keep warm until you have cooked all the fish. Serve with lemon slices.
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Thanks, Sarah Ringler
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