The Joy of Dark
By JOE JORDAN
Photo by ERIC ENGLES
Ever notice how silhouettes against the night sky of things like mountains, trees, or even just your hand held up above you, are really black? This striking contrast reveals that the sky itself is never totally dark, even in the most remote and pristine locations. There is a natural, permanent faint glow in the night sky, most of which comes from an atmospheric phenomenon called airglow, an "echo" from the air itself of the daytime bombardment by photons coming from the sun. It’s akin to an ongoing slow-motion version of the dancing rays, arcs, and swirls we know as the northern lights, or aurora borealis up north and aurora australis in the far south. Aurorae, as well as this far fainter every-night airglow, have essentially the same physics going on in the wild open air above, as what's happening inside the bulbs of fluorescent lamps!
Now here's a surprise. We can hardly make out any color at all in the very low light of nighttime, as our rods primarily function for black and white vision, while it's our cones that perceive colors in daylight. But the rods in our eyes do actually have some limited color sensitivity, and perhaps amazingly, their peak acuity is tuned to the very same color as is dominant in that subtle night light from airglow, the green band of the spectrum! What do you think of this rather uncanny match, where the color we're best able to see dimly at night, just happens to be the color most present in the faint emanations from the dark sky? Is it a matter of great luck for us, or a wonderful result of exquisitely fine-tuned evolution?
There are two other natural sources of faint light coming from the night sky, not including the moon or planets, which we'll explore in future issues. Along with this and last week's topics, we're providing a preview of coming attractions with more to come about our active local chapter of the international mother-ship. Join us! https://darksky.org
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Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs Needs Volunteers Every Day
By KEITH MCHENRY
Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs could use more help preparing and sharing
meals. People who are fleeing the fires and those who have just been evicted have increased our need to respond. We also anticipate another increase in people seeking food and clothing when the Red Cross evacuation shelters close down once the threat of fire has diminished.
We cook at the Little Red Church at Lincoln and Cedar Streets on weekends, starting at noon, and share those meals from 4 to 6 at Laurel and Front Streets.
We meet weekdays at noon at Laurel and Front Streets and share the meals from 1 to 6 PM. (The GPS address for our gathering is 310 Front St, Santa Cruz, CA 95060)
Please email our volunteer coordinator Emma at
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Parking Reform: Towards a More Affordable and Sustainable Santa Cruz
By RICK LONGINOTTI
Photos by SARAH RINGLER
California has a history of housing discrimination. The legislature passed the Rumford Act in 1963 that prohibited property owners from refusing to rent or sell housing on the basis of ethnicity, religion, sex, marital status, physical handicap, or familial status. In 1964, real estate interests qualified a ballot measure to overturn the Rumford Act. Martin Luther King Jr. stated that passing Prop 14 would be "one of the most shameful developments in our nation’s history." It passed. Prop 14 was later overturned by the Supreme Court.
There continues to be a form of discrimination in housing based on income status. Single family zoning prohibits development of multi-family apartments. The prevalence of single-family zoning has segregated residential neighborhoods by income, and reduced opportunity for lower income families. Just last year the state legislature began a transformation: allowing auxiliary dwelling units in all single family zoned neighborhoods.
Parking requirements also discriminate against lower income families. In Santa Cruz, 55% of rental households own one car or less, according to census tract data analyzed by students of UCSC Associate Professor of Environmental Studies Department, Adam Millard-Ball. Yet Santa Cruz code requires two bedroom apartments to be built with two parking spaces. The cost of constructing parking is passed to the tenants, whether they use the parking or not.
The City of Santa Cruz has an opportunity to change that. On September 17, the Planning Commission will consider reforms to the City's parking requirements. Campaign for Sustainable Transportation is advocating a reform that has made housing more affordable in cities that have adopted it: unbundle parking costs from the rent or purchase price of an apartment. A tenant can opt to pay for parking or not, creating a big savings for car-free or car-lite households. Assistant Professor in Environmental Studies at Santa Clara University and author of "The Hidden Cost of Bundled Parking," C.J. Gabbe, found that bundling the cost of a parking space adds an average of 17% to a unit’s rent. Unbundled parking also reduces vehicle ownership, lowering a community's traffic and greenhouse gases.
Find out how reform of parking requirements and unbundling parking costs can work in Santa Cruz by registering for an online Interview with C.J. Gabbe on Tues, Sept 2, at 7pm Register here
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Fire and Smoke
By SARAH RINGLER
Many people in our county are suffering now, especially those who have lost their homes or who have been evacuated. The Santa Cruz County webpage provides some resources including a benefits' hotline where people can apply and receive replacement benefits if they qualify.
Smoke is also a hazard. If you have a home, one way to reduce smoke exposure is to create a "Clean Room." The Environmental Protection Agency has suggestions:
- Choose a room large enough to fit everyone in your family. A bedroom with an attached bathroom is a good choice.
- Prevent smoke from coming inside. Close windows and doors in the room, but don’t block entryways, or make it difficult to leave.
- Stay cool. Run fans, window air conditioners or central air conditioning. If your HVAC or window air conditioner has a fresh air option, turn it off or close the intake.
- Filter the air in the room. Use a portable air cleaner continuously on the highest fan setting, if possible.
- Don’t do things that introduce smoke or other particles indoors. These include using gas, propane or wood-burning stoves and furnaces, spraying aerosol products, frying or broiling food, burning candles or incense, and vacuuming unless you use a vacuum with a HEPA filter.
- Spend as much time as you can in the Clean Room.
- Dust or mop surfaces in the Clean Room with a damp cloth as needed to keep settled particles from getting back into the air.
I closed all the indoor doors at my house and focused on keeping two closed doors between me and the open air. Often, while moving about the house, I could still smell smoke, while the clean room noticeably offered cooler, fresher air. For more information visit EPA.gov.
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"Creativity is intelligence having fun." Albert Einstein
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Sarah's 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. Some changes have been made this week.The following announcement was removed and there were changes in the reporting of known cases by race/ethnicity, known cases by age group and gender, and by jurisdiction. Race/ethnicity category was expanded to included Asians, Blacks, other and unknown. Also, there were changes in the age categories.
"Due to a significant and unresolved problem with the State of California’s CalREDIE reporting system, the County of Santa Cruz Public Health Department, as well as county public health departments statewide, are experiencing significant underreporting of COVID-19 testing results. Because of this problem, the information presented in this dashboard/these dashboards may be incomplete. We will provide updates on the status of these reporting delays as soon as they are available. Additional information about these delays may be available from the State of California."
On Aug. 28, there were 1,721 cases that tested positive, a 10% increase from Aug. 20. Seven people have died.
To get tested without a doctor’s request, call 1-888-634-1123 or go online at https://lhi.care/covidtesting. The testing clinic is at at Ramsay Park in Watsonville. Other testing sites with that may have restricted access can be found here.
To visit the website for the Santa Cruz County Health Department:
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Tested positive by age:
19 and under - 16%
20-34 - 33%
35-44 - 16%
45-64 - 26%
65 or older, 9% tested positive
Tested positive by ethnicity, rounded off:
1% - Multi-Race
18% - White
61% - Latinx
.5% - Black
9.8% - Asian
3%- Other
Tested positive by gender:
52% female
48% male
0% Under investigation
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Weekly increases in positive tests:
June 12-19 - 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 - August 6 - 13%
August 6-13 - 12%
August 14-20 - 16%
August 20-28 - 10%
Tested positive by jurisdiction:
19% mid-county
14% north county
61% south county
6% under investigation
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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, 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 not a profit-making enterprise and all work is volunteer.
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