Reel Work Labor Film Festival Back for 23rd Year

BY SARAH RINGLER

At the end of April, Reel Work 2024 begins this year's season of films about real people facing real odds and sometimes winning. All films are free but donations are accepted. Here are some of the films.

Wrestling Jerusalem

(Dylan Kussman, 2016, 90 min, USA)

Writer-actor Aaron Davidman conjures a host of different characters while seeking answers to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He takes a multidimensional journey into the heart of the Middle East, and the intersection of politics, identity and spiritual yearning. He embodies and gives voice to 17 different characters on all sides of the existential divide – deftly moving between male and female, Jewish and Muslim, Israeli and Arab – modeling what it takes truly to bear witness through the eyes of the other, challenging long-held beliefs with sharp and unblinking observation.

There will be a special appearance by singer and songwriter Mark Levy, who for years has been collecting, writing, and singing songs that focus attention on the many issues that face humankind. His programs have been heard throughout the country and abroad as he travels with his strong voice and many instruments, with songs that spur us to unify around the causes of peace and justice. A Santa Cruz resident for 45 years, he now makes his home in Florence, Oregon.

Co-sponsors: Resource Center for Nonviolence, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom-Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz for Bernie.

Watch trailer for Wrestling Jerusalem.

Thursday, Apr. 25, 7pm at the Resource Center for Nonviolence, 612 Ocean St, Santa Cruz

Event is also online: Register at  bit.ly/RW24Apr26

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For the full list of films and updates, go HERE. 

Mark your calendar now.

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Youth vs. Gov

(Christi Cooper, 2020, 110 min, USA)

A powerful climate documentary, followed by up-to-the-minute info on the current status of the groundbreaking Juliana vs. United States case brought by 20 young people that rests on this question: Do we have a legal right to a safe climate? A court case update and conversations will be moderated by Ami Chen Mills. Information and tickets HERE. Sponsored by Citizens’ Climate Lobby

Friday, Apr. 26, 7pm at 418 Project Theater, 155 Rivers St. Santa Cruz

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Being 80

(Bob Gliner, 2024, 56 min, Santa Cruz County, USA) 

This local documentary showcases a diverse range of vibrant, unique and memorable 80 year olds still finding meaning in their lives through long lived career choices contradicting the stereotype that their minds and bodies are obsolete in a world where only younger generations can make the world work. Speaker: Bob Gliner, filmmaker.

Saturday, Apr. 27, 4 pm at Mid-County Senior Center, 829 Bay Ave, Capitola

Saturday, May 11, 2pm at Felton Branch Library, 6121 Gushee St, Felton

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Stripped For Parts: Journalism on the Brink

(Rick Goldsmith, 2023, 9 min, USA)

Investigative reporter Julie Reynolds, Denver Post editorialist Chuck Plunkett, and a handful of others, backed by the NewsGuild union, go toe-to-toe with the faceless hedge fund, Alden Global Capital, in a battle to save and rebuild local journalism across America.

Alden Global Capital owns over 200 newspapers around the country including the San Jose Mercury News and the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

Who will control the future of America's news ecosystem: Wall Street billionaires concerned only with profit, or those who see journalism as an essential public service and the lifeblood of our democracy?

Speakers: Rick Goldsmith, filmmaker, and Julie Reynolds, journalist who is Founding Editor and currently writes and edits Voices of the Monterey Bay.

Watch the trailer for Stripped For Parts.

Saturday, Apr. 27, 7pm at the Resource Center for Nonviolence, 612 Ocean St., Santa Cruz

This event is also available online. Register at bit.ly/RW24Apr27

Into The Weeds

(Jennifer Baichwal, 2022, 97 min, USA) 

A powerful story of a former Bay Area school district groundskeeper who was exposed on the job to the cancer-causing herbicide glyphosate. After he got cancer, a group of lawyers join together and successfully sued Monsanto.

Panelists: Mark Weller, Yanely Martinez, Kathleen Kilpatrick, and Woody Rehanek, pesticide safety activists with Californians for Pesticide Reform and Safe Ag, Safe Schools.

Watch the trailer for Into The Weeds.

Sunday, Apr. 28, at 7pm on Workers Memorial Day at Resource Center for Nonviolence, 612 Ocean St., Santa Cruz

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International Shorts

A series of six labor-related short films from around the world. 

Tuesday, Apr. 30, 7 pm at the Resource Center for Nonviolence, 612 Ocean St., Santa Cruz.

Also available online: Register at bit.ly/RW24Apr30

We All Go...... 

BY SARAH RINGLER

GRAPHICS BY MORGAN CORREIA

The lack of bathrooms around our area isn't just an issue for parents with little kids, the elderly or people without homes. Individuals who drive for a living like Amazon drivers, UPS, letter carriers, and others often have to scavenge to find restrooms. When we had some work done on our home last year, the contractor put a portapottie in our yard. It was there for a few months during last years's flood. One day I saw a man in a FEMA shirt dash out of his car into the portapottie. It was not unusual to see Amazon, FedEx and UPS trucks pull up.

Watsonville Community Members for Public Restrooms is asking Watsonville and the Parks Department to provide and maintain bathrooms that are open 24 hours a day at Callaghan, Marinovich, Muzzio and River parks now. New bathrooms need to be added to other parks in the future. Four bathrooms for 53,000 people is not enough. 

This isn't just a Watsonville problem either. Two bathrooms at the foot of the wharf in Santa Cruz were closed last week. One had a sign directing people to another restroom 200 feet away that was also closed. 

If you agree, call the City Council and Parks Commission in your town. In Watsonville, call the Watsonville City Council at 768-3040, Watsonville City Manager at 768-3010 and the Watsonville City Parks and Recreation Commission at 768-3240.  weallgowatsonville@gmail.com

Teachers, Community Groups, and Farmworkers File Lawsuit Challenging Toxic Pesticide Approvals Near Public Schools in Monterey County

 BY MARK WELLER - CALIFORNIANS FOR PESTICIDE REFORM

Regulators are failing to protect children from repeat exposure to the most dangerous pesticides 

MONTEREY, CA – A coalition has filed a lawsuit (attached) challenging the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) and Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner’s repeat rubberstamping of applications to use highly toxic and legally restricted pesticides, including the fumigants chloropicrin and 1,3-dichloropropene (1,3-D), near three schools in in the Pajaro Valley of Monterey County. 

Children at Ohlone Elementary School, Pajaro Middle School, and Hall District Elementary School, which also house onsite daycares, suffer some of the highest exposure to fumigants in the state. Fumigants cause severe and immediate health effects, including difficulty breathing, as well as long-term effects including cancer. County officials, under the purview of state regulators, have repeatedly approved permits allowing fumigations in the vicinity of these schools, with disregard for their cumulative health impacts and without a meaningful evaluation of feasible, safer alternatives.

"The State and our County Ag Commissioner have allowed a cancer-causing pesticide in the air that Ohlone Elementary School children breathe at more than twice the level the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment says is safe. Our kids need protections from the regulators -- not dereliction of duty," said Yanely Martinez, Greenfield City Councilmember and Safe Ag Safe Schools organizer.

Pajaro Valley Federation of Teachers, Safe Ag Safe Schools, Center for Farmworker Families, Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, and Californians for Pesticide Reform, represented by Earthjustice, are demanding DPR and the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner end its illegal practice of disregarding the health of Latino schoolchildren, farmworkers, and community members in the restricted materials permitting process.

“California officials are mandated by law to address the cumulative impacts of harmful pesticides on human health and consider safer alternatives. The Ag Commissioner and DPR continue to rubber-stamp pesticide applications without doing either, disregarding the health and safety of our state’s most vulnerable people -- young children,” said Elizabeth Fisher, Earthjustice attorney.

Exposing Latino schoolchildren in Monterey County to especially harmful pesticides amounts to racial discrimination and a violation of civil rights, the California Environmental Quality Act, and interrelated provisions of the Food and Agricultural Code. Yet every year, the Monterey County Agricultural Commissioner, under DPR’s purview, allows farms to apply close to three million pounds of chloropicrin and 1,3-D – this, plus an additional 6 million pounds of other pesticides sprayed in Monterey County annually. 

There is a well-documented history of fumigants drifting far beyond intended application sites and leading to mass-casualty events sickening farmworkers and community members. Studies link fumigant exposure, both individually and cumulatively, to serious acute and chronic health harms like fetal death and cancer. Studies also confirm that chloropicrin and 1,3-D may be even more toxic when their active ingredients interact. Unsafe-for-human-health fumigant levels have been recorded by an Ohlone Elementary air monitoring station over the entire course of the twelve years in which it has been operational. 

Call Mark Weller, Californians for Pesticide Reform, 831-325-1681, or

Miranda Fox, Earthjustice, 415-283-2324.

Lollygagging in the Bandwidths of Times

BY WOODY REHANEK

 "The only reason for time is so that everything

doesn't happen at once." --Albert Einstein

Time is a sfumato* brushstroke

on the canvas of life

connecting arpeggios

to make a pattern: GRAVITAS.

a white-hot sun

dissolving clouds,

bringing serenity.

Time is the fog

that envelopes us;

fog is the time

that envelopes us

navigating & out-maneuvering

dead ends, diversions,

sidetracks & cul-de-sacs.

-----

Dead ruby-throated

hummingbirds, still in time.

Drumsticks keeping time

with the mockingbird.

Black ravens in purple rain

show us detachment

the same as attention

fastened in the moment.

The blue-black raven's wing 

is the same bluing thing 

as gunmetal. We'll keep the ravens.

Gunmetal must go.

When we take our time

it becomes elastic &

vibrato like guitar strings

& diminishing 7ths, glissando

speeding up and slowing down

according to our attention.

Dark matter in the Universe

matches dark matter

in the human brain

so we can travel from past

through the present

to an imagined future.

-----

Serenity expands to fill

each savory moment

in unstructured time.

Each delectable moment

carries within it

the delicate taste of eternity.

Since these fully ripe moments

carry within them the seeds of eternity,

we are self-actualizing

when fully present

in each moment: "Burnt Norton."

T.S. Eliot. "The still point 

of the turning world."

Pool/riffle/glide ratios in the lifestream:

Having traversed whimsical riffles

& middle aged glides

absolute total complete moments

of ripe old age suspend time

like deep mature pools

in a trout stream.

-----

If you have too much

time on your hands,

give some away.

Behold time's venerable

quivering trout feeding

in quiet currents

suspended under

overhanging banks

of woody debris.

Give away your gravity--

I'll keep my gravitas.

Look for me in the deep pools

with the ghost trout,

maybe a thoughtful shadow.

******

*sfumato--smoky, blurred, as in the outline

of a figure compared to its background

Photo by TARMO HANNULA 

A long-billed curlew works the shoreline of Moss Landing State Beach.

Santa Cruz County Covid-19 Report

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 Apr. 3. Numbers above one show the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing. 

The third 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 fourth graph below shows hospitalizations.



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 Tarmo Hannula

Fashion Street - Making paper art from chopstick wrappers while waiting for sushi at Imura Japanese Restaurant in Watsonville.

Labor History Calendar - April 5-11, 2024

a.k.a Know Our History Lest We Forget

April 5, 1930: Gandhi begins march to the sea in India.

April 5, 2010: 29 killed in explosion at non-union Massey coal mine after years of safety violations.

April 6, 1903: Holland general strike.

April 6, 2017: General strike brings Buenos Aires to standstill in Argentina.

April 6, 2019: General Strike demands end to dictatorship in Sudan.

April 7, 1879: Mass arrest of Italian revolutionaries.

April 7, 1937: Goons attack Hershey candy sit-down strikers, clubbing workers.

April 7, 1947: NLRB attorney tells ILWU members to “lie down lie good dogs,” in Juneau, Alaska.

April 8, 1712: Slave revolt NYC; 21 executed.

April 8, 2022: Amazon appeals union win at Staten Island warehouse stalling union recognition for months.

April 9, 1894: Hunger Revolt in Lyons, France.

April 9, 1898: Paul Robeson born.

April 10, 1919: Emiliano Zapata, Mexican revolutionary, ambushed and killed.

April 10, 2019: Soldiers refuse to fire on protesters, government falls in Sudan.

April 11, 1972: 10-day strike by 210,000 public sector workers begins in Quebec. 

April 11, 2005: Spectrum sweater factory collapses killing 64 in Bangladesh.

April 11, 2019: 31,000 begin 11-day strike against Stop & Shop in 3 US states resulting in a loss of $345 million. 

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

I call upon you to share

this great country

with me.

Paul Robeson

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Spring Green Pansotti

By SARAH RINGLER 

As winter subsides, little leaves emerge from the ground. Some people see weeds, but many of those plants are edible and can be foraged for food. Common edible weeds in our area are dandelion and borage and are often found in gardens; young nettles and miner’s lettuce are found in the woods . Nettle leaves, also called stinging nettles, have the fresh taste of cucumbers or spinach. Found in the woods, they should be soaked or boiled in water to remove the stingers. They have been, and are, commonly eaten all over the world. 

Take those little leaves, add some green herbs, place into circles of dough and boil. Then serve covered with a flavorful walnut, garlic and cheese sauce. Called pansotti, meaning “pot-bellied” in Italian, these little ravioli from Liguria in northern Italy, exude spring time. This recipe was adapted from two websites, A Small Kitchen in Genoa and The Kitchen with Great Italian Chefs.  

The most challenging part of the recipe is making the ravioli. If you already are accomplished in this area, I applaud you. Mine look primitive, but still tasted great. 

Beautifully made pansotti are served at Sicilia In Bocca in Gilroy.

Pasta: 

2 eggs

1 2/3 cup of 00 flour 

½  teaspoon salt

Enough white wine or water to make dough if necessary

Semolina flour for rolling out dough

Pasta filling: 

2 cups finely chopped green leaves like spinach, chard or wild plants mentioned above

2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, parsley or marjoram leaves

½ cup ricotta cheese    

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1 lemon, zested and juiced

½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Salt and pepper to taste

Walnut sauce: 

½ slice of white bread, crusts removed

1/3 cup milk

2/3 cup walnuts, toasted for 8 minutes at 300 degrees

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 garlic clove  

2/3 cup olive oil

Lemon juice, to taste

Salt to taste

Topping:

Parsley and dandelion leaves

Make the pasta by putting flour in a bowl, whisk in salt and make a small volcano shape with a hole in the middle. Break the eggs into the center and whisk with a fork, gradually incorporating the flour into the eggs. Add a little water or white wine if necessary. When the mixture sticks together into a soft dough, put out onto a floured surface and knead for 10 minutes until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour. 

Wash and dry greens. Fill a bowl with ice water. Bring salted water to a boil in a saucepan and immerse greens for about 3 minutes. To keep greens bright, add to the ice water then drain and squeeze out as much water as possible. Roughly chop and place in a bowl. Stir in the ricotta, chopped herbs, Parmesan, lemon zest and mix thoroughly. Season the mixture with salt, pepper, lemon juice and freshly grated nutmeg. Taste and adjust accordingly. 

Make the walnut sauce by soaking bread in milk until soft. Add to a blender with the rest of the ingredients. Blend into a thick sauce. Taste and season. 

After the pasta dough has rested, make the ravioli. Roll out the dough into a large rectangle on a board with semolina flour until  it is 1/16 inch thick. Cut the rectangle into 3-inch squares. Add 1 tablespoon of filling onto the squares, brush the edges with water, fold over and seal. Place the pansotti on a tray dusted with semolina flour and cover with a cloth until ready to boil.

Cook the pasta in heavily salted boiling water for 3–5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a serving bowl. Gently heat the walnut sauce in a saucepan adding a little pasta water if necessary. Add the walnut sauce and coat evenly. Serve the pansotti warm with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of chopped leaves. 

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

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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. 

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