California is first state to study Reparations for Slavery
By SARAH RINGLER
Shirley Nash Weber, a Democrat who represents the 79th Assembly District in the southern part of San Diego County has introduced AB 3121, a bill that creates an eight-person task force to study and develop a proposal for reparations for African Americans whose ancestors were enslaved. This makes California the first state in the union to develop a reparation's proposal according to Tammerlin Drummond’s article, “Gold Chains: From Slavery in California to Black Live Matter” in the Fall 2020 edition of ACLU News, a newsletter that comes out of American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, a supporter of the bill which was also signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, Sept. 30.
The ACLU has been studying the history of how California’s government has worked to enslave Black and Native people through violence, the courts and racist laws. Weber has been a member of the California Assembly since 2012 and her district includes parts of San Diego, Chula Vista, National City, La Mesa and Lemon Grove.
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Holiday Ideas from the Homeless Garden Project
By SARAH RINGLER
Every holiday season, the Homeless Garden Project offers for sale over 40 different products all made from materials grown on the farm. Their products include various food items like jams, jellies and herb mixes, bath and body products, and beautiful dried flower wreaths. Money from the sales is a major source of income that supports the project's programs which include transitional employment and job training from people who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability.
The Homeless Garden Project also needs volunteers to help staff the Holiday Store from Nov. 16 to Dec. 24. Volunteers need to attend an orientation and shifts are approximately two hours long. The store is open Mon.-Sun. from 10:30am to 7pm. Contact HGP here.
The store is at 1338 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. COVID-19 safety policies are followed.
In the soil of our urban farm and garden, people find the tools they need to build a home in the world.
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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 Oct. 31.
Single Family homes: The average list price - $1,155,032 (-2.4%, 30-day trend) and average sold price - $1,104,290 (7.38%, 30-day trend).
Luxury Family homes: Average list price - $3,688,816 (7.95%, 30-day trend) and average sold price - $2,830,909 (1.93%, 30 day trend)
Condo/Townhomes: Average list price - $573,128 (6.16%, 30-day trend), and average sold price - $592,548 (-3.93% 30-day trend)
Luxury Condo/Townhomes: Average list price - $975,426 (-6.09%, 30-day trend), and average sold price - $936,499 (-15.89%%, 30-day trend)
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LISA MASSEY, a retiree from the Pajaro Valley Unified School District who currently lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, sends out regular humorous emails like the one above.
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A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain
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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. As of Nov. 5, there were 3,031 cases that tested positive, a 6% increase from Oct. 29. The death count is 26 individuals, up 4% from last week.
As of Oct. 27, we moved into the Orange Tier which allows for more openings. For what that means to the county, click here. For more information on the tiers, go here.
Data remains stable. The county's Effective Reproductive Number continues to stay 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. The testing clinic is at at Ramsay Park in Watsonville. Other testing sites that may have restricted access can be found here.
To visit the website for the Santa Cruz County Health Department:
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Known cases tested positive by age/% of population:
19 and under - 17%/25%
20-34 - 31%/22%
35-44 - 17%/12%
45-64 - 26%/27%
65 or older - 10%/15%
Tested positive by ethnicity/% of population:
Multi-Race - 1%/3%
White - 17%/58%
Latinx - 63%/34%
Black - .5%/1%
Asian - 1%/4%
Other - 3%/.4%
Unknown - 13%
Tested positive by gender/% of population:
Female - 53%/50%
Male - 47%/50%
Other - 0%
Unknown - 0%
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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-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%
Tested positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 18%/12%
North county - 17%/60%
South county - 63%/29%
Under investigation - 3%
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ECONOMICS
COVID-19 and the American Household
By SARAH RINGLER
The United States Census Bureau gathers a broad range of economic information from around the country and the world. Although I try to focus on county wide reporting, I thought some of the responses collected in the weekly Pulse Newsletter on the social and economics effects of COVID-19 on the American household might be of interest. From Oct. 14-Oct. 26, the Household Pulse Survey estimates that:
24.1% of American adults expect someone in their household to experience a loss in employment income in the next 4 weeks.
36.9% of adults live in households where at least one adult substituted some or all in-person work for telework because of the pandemic.
10.9% of American adults lived in households where there was either sometimes or often not enough to eat in the previous 7 days.
7.0% of adults are either not current on their rent or mortgage payment, or have slight or no confidence in making their next payment on time.
Of adults living in households not current on rent or mortgage, 28.4%report eviction or foreclosure in the next two months is either somewhat or very likely.
33.1% of adults live in households where it has been somewhat or very difficult to pay usual household expenses during the pandemic.
82.5% of adults in households with post-secondary educational plans had those plans cancelled or changed significantly this fall.
Click here to sign up to have as much economic data from the government as you can handle and more, delivered almost daily, to your email. You can specify only the kind of data you want to receive.
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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
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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 © 2020 Sarah Ringler - All rights reserved
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