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Volume 3, Issue 1, June 17, 2022 View as Webpage
Santa Cruz Juneteenth Celebrations
By SANTA CRUZ NAACP

This year's theme is Liberation! Santa Cruz County has an incredible lineup of events celebrating Juneteenth, the day in 1865 when folks in Texas finally found out that slaves had been freed. U.S. President Joe Biden signed a bill in June 2021 that declared Juneteenth a federal holiday.

Juneteenth is a special day for anyone who believes in freedom and equality for all people. Join us at the Juneteenth Annual Celebration at London Nelson Park, noon - 5 pm on Sat., June 18, for amazing music, delicious soul food, craft booths, kid's activities, and a basketball skills contest. 

Other upcoming Juneteenth events include a Hike & Meditation on June 18 and Black Surf Santa Cruz Liberation Paddle Out on June 19. Check out the Diaper Drive in the poster above.
 Barrios Unidos is holding a Juneteenth Celebration of Freedom on Friday, June 17, noon-3 pm at the Spot. See details at left.

NAACP Santa Cruz County Branch will have a table at the Juneteenth Annual Celebration and is cosponsoring a Blood Drive with the Black Health Matters Initiative between 10 am-3 pm. Click here (enter sponsor code BHMI).

Our Downtown, Our Future is presenting “A Night At The Movies”
By SARAH RINGLER

Our Downtown, Our Future is presenting “A Night At The Movies” at the Vet's Hall June 30, 846 Front St. in Santa Cruz. Short films, a silent auction, food and drink will be available.

Click HERE to listen to local artist and musician Russell Brutsché repurposing "The Times They Are a-Changing" to promote a vote by the people of Santa Cruz on the mixed use library garage project where the current Farmer's Market is. Music accompanied by Russell's paintings shouldn't be missed. You might even think it's Bob Dylan at his nasal best.
Santa Cruz City Officials Puzzled by Reality
By KEITH MCHENRY

I was walking along River Street when I came upon two of my friends at the Armory Shelter van stop outside Garage 10. I asked them if they were staying in the Armory. “No we are in the prison camp next to it,” one said as the other nodded in agreement. I asked if they were provided tents. The tents were there when they arrived. I asked if they had canopies over them. They didn’t. “It's too hot to be in the tent,” she added noting that the van schedule almost made her miss her job. She tells me that the camp is already nearly full as is the Armory next door. I told them that several friends told me they went up to check in and left saying it was like an internment camp.

Ross Camp Hero Robert Woodlief was the first to tell me that those who went to check in at the tents outside the Armory were horrified and declined to stay. Like many of those who eat at Food Not Bombs, he lost his vehicular home to the city tow truck. He moved to the Soquel end of the ever expanding Benchlands camp.

I walked over the pedestrian bridge to take a picture of the Bull and Bear Fights plaque on the Dakota Street side of San Lorenzo Park. Wall Street stocks collapsed into the Bear Market that morning. The terms Bull and Bear Market come from the bull and bear fights popular in America at one time. The monument reminds us that Bull and Bear fights started in San Lorenzo Park in 1797 ending on July 13, 1867. The people of Santa Cruz placed bets on which would survive, the bull or the bear.

I strolled up and down Pacific Avenue taking photos of the 19 shuttered retail stores between Mission Street and Laurel. There would be another block of bankrupt shops but they were cleared for a luxury condo project.

I snapped a picture of the expanded camp Soquel side of the pedestrian bridge. “Hey don’t take pictures,” yells up a man hidden by a blue tarp. He sticks his head out, “Oh you’re Keith, that's ok.”

I turn and snap a long shot of the Water Street side of the camp. The numbers of people moving to the Benchlands is growing everyday. It's a tough situation for anyone to live on the dusty flood plains. I am amazed at the relative cooperation of people struggling with such diverse conditions and difficulties. The one thing they all share besides the challenges of survival is that they can come and go as they please. They are free and independent.

I see Blue smacking golf balls towards the Duck Pond with his driver. “I thought you moved into a place in Ben Lomond?” I ask. “The landlord kicked me out after the first night saying I wasn’t family,” adding that he still has a housing voucher. “I moved in over there.” He points to a tent in the flats. Another Benchlands resident Greg Bengston comes by and shares that the accommodations next to the Armory were so inhumane that he wasn’t willing to move up there.

Greg also explained that the water faucet in the camp had been shut down 
for at least four days. “When we showed up inside the county building looking to fill our five gallon jugs the staff apparently called the city and the water was back on that afternoon.”

Greg added that he overheard city staff person Jeremy Leonard telling some of the older Benchland residents that they had to move out by the end of the month and that the police Swat Team would be clearing out the camp in July.

A community with some of the world’s wealthiest residents should be able to do better by members of their working class neighbors, many of whom have helped build Santa Cruz. I have unhoused friends like Robert who poured the concrete and nailed the frames of those very homes some of them now enjoy.

The City plans to evict several hundred people from the Benchlands camp in July. They will end up living in the doorways, woods, levees and roadsides of downtown Santa Cruz if we don’t stop them. The locations that the City plans to move people too are already occupied so there is no place for people to go. See what they have to say in their official May 5, 2022 Agenda Report.

From the Santa Cruz City Council Agenda Report,

As a result of the closure of the Cemetery and Hell’s Trail camps, the number of persons camping in the Benchlands has increased significantly compared to the beginning of the year. Earlier this year, Council provided staff direction to work toward closing the Benchlands to camping, and on April 12, the City Manager reported to Council that staff are working towards a closure in July. Staff is in the process of developing an operational plan for the closure to camping on this timeline, along with a plan for the restoration of the area to its intended use as a park that is utilized by the entire community. Several 
factors critical to the success of this effort are already underway, including expansion of existing shelter capacity in the City, along with collaboration with the County to expand case management, service connections, and rehousing efforts for persons camping in the Benchlands in advance of the closure.

The May 5 Report claims they hope to provide safe sleeping spaces or cots for a total of 315 people. On April 19, the Santa Cruz Sentinel reported that they counted “285 tents set up along the San Lorenzo River from the Water Street bridge to the Soquel Avenue bridge.” A few dozen people were cleared from Sycamore Grove and other areas along Route 9 during the first week of June, increasing the population of the Benchlands once again. Each of the “shelters” they plan to move people to are already full so either the City will evict the current occupants into the streets to make way for those being removed from the Benchlands camp, or those in the camp will be forced to find a place to be in the streets or the Pogonip forest. It's just as simple as that, a cruel shell game. If the celluloid avatars at City Hall thought those who live outside as human they would never inflict such suffering. But they see our unhoused friends as rodents to be eradicated.

As the economy crashes the number of people being forced to live outside is sure to increase. It is clear that the city and county are not prepared to welcome hundreds of additional people who will become homeless and will be seeking a safe place to live.

The May 5 Report lists the 315 possible locations including 60 cots at the Armory, the camp next to it, and the old maintenance boneyard at 1220 River St. But these are already full, so unless they evict all those people into the streets to replace them with people from the Benchlands it's not really clear what the City is seeking to achieve. Are they trying to make 300 people’s lives even more unstable?

The local homeless industrial complex is awash in funds but little is available to house those forced on to the streets. In a May 18, article in lookout.com on the closing of the last COVID hotels Santa Cruz County spokesperson Jason Hoppin, claims the county will have spent $73 million on the program’s emergency shelter program. But this is just a fraction of the millions flowing into the pockets of those administering our well financed system of poverty pimps.

So here is the list of priorities they outline in the City’s May 5 agenda report. City staff positions were approved by Council on March 8, 2022.

Deputy City Manager (Budget: $????)
Homelessness Services Coordinator (Budget: $????)
Homelessness Response Outreach and Shelter Specialist (Budget: $????)
Community Service Officer (Budget: $????)
Community Relations Specialist (Budget: $111,836)
Public Works Building Maintenance Worker II (Budget: $67,094)
Public Works Homelessness Response Field Worker (Budget: $173,128)
Public Works Field Supervisor and Senior Homelessness Response Field 
Worker for Homelessness Response Field Division (Budget: $212,733)
Contract with County of Santa Cruz for additional Mental
Health Liaisons (Budgeted: $188,000)
Planning & Proposal Development Consultant (Budgeted: $336,000)
Legislative Advocacy Consultant (Budgeted: $150,000, reduced from 
$216,000) Land & Resource Management Contractor (Budgeted: $520,000)
Vehicle Abatement Contractor (Budgeted: $37,500)

The agenda report continues with a section on their Over Size Vehicle Ordinance Implementation, and Safe Parking Program, OVO, has this to offer:

The OVO was adopted by Council on November 9, 2021. Several key elements of the OVO include parking restrictions on City streets between midnight and 5 a.m., a new residential permit program, and the restriction of discharging sewage or greywater on streets or in storm drains.

Tier 1 Emergency Safe Parking (3 spaces total)
Tier 2 Multiple Safe Parking Sites (30 spaces total)
Tier 3 Operator Supported 24/7 Safe Parking Site (15-20 spaces total)

When you first face homelessness and have some resources families often 
buy a large van, SUV or RV to move into. So Santa Cruz can anticipate a huge increase in people seeking the shelter of their vehicle and now face having their new home towed, added to the stress of sky high gas prices.

I get a frantic call from Santa Cruz Homeless Union President Alicia Kuhl on June 16. Her RV was gone. At first she thought it had been stolen. A friend had been living in it since she had finally after a three year struggle to find housing for her family. Her friend had moved from the vehicle the day before. The key is under the mat he told her. She called the police. The City of Santa Cruz towed her legal RV from a legal parking spot on Soquel.

I call the tow company. The owner of Auto Care Towing told me that her RV was seized because it was in violation of the Oversized Vehicle Ordinance (OVO) even though the City is still waiting approval from the Coastal Commission before this deadly law can be enforced.

I gave Alicia the $771 she required to retrieve her vehicle. She paid Auto Care Towing the money and when she went to drive it away she found an employee was under the RV removing the transmission and drive line. She video taped the employee as he is dismantling her vehicle. She has also called the Santa Cruz Sheriffs department to come and intervene.

Like many others she bought this RV when the county red tagged the apartment she was renting and had to move in haste. This policy of official theft could force many more just evicted members of our community into tents on the Benchlands at a time when the economy is crashing.

City officials let the community know they view those who live outside as subhuman during the Flag Day City Council meeting, puzzled by the reality of the existence of our unhoused.

Jessica York reported in the Sentinel, “In preparation for the encampment’s pending closure, city workers have begun to place some of the Benchland occupants in other available encampment sites, Huffaker said Tuesday. Several weeks ago, the city also stopped its practice of sending people living without shelter to the Benchlands, he said.”It is amazing that our highly paid City Manager Matt Huffaker would “discover last week” that people would rather live in the Benchlands than suffer in the prison camp they constructed up in Delaveaga Park.

“We did discover last week that some of the individuals that had secured 
alternative sheltering sites, for one reason or another, had made the decision to return to the Benchlands,” Huffaker said. “Part of the challenge that we’re encountering as we move through the closure — and we do think it warrants getting some stronger controls of the physical site in place to help ensure that once individuals are relocating that we don’t have the possibility of folks repopulating the camp.”

The article continues “City Councilmember Donna Meyers asked Huffaker what the city’s strategy would be to prevent occupants’ return to the park site, once they had left. Huffaker referred to discussions with the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement support at the site.”

“I’m just curious, if we are trying to move people out of the Benchlands, into other facilities and shelter, etc., I’m assuming at some point, in a sense, we kind of have to put up a ‘closed sign,’ in a sense, because that is not a sustainable site, obviously, long-term, because of flooding and all the other things that, unfortunately, we’ve learned over the years,” Meyers said.

Is the City suggesting a plan of forced internment of those who can’t afford housing? It sure sounds that way.

City officials are puzzled by the reality but as hundreds of people join the uncounted of our streets during the global economic collapse they may be in for a shock. The homeless are people. People with their own free will.
Santa Cruz County DA's Response Found in Junk Mail
By SARAH RINGLER

It was reported in last week's article on possible Brown Act and Campaign Finance Violations by Santa Cruz City Council members Donna Meyers, Martine Watkins, Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson and Renee Golder during a Santa Cruz Together meeting on May 2, that Ann Simonton had not received a reply from the Santa Cruz District Attorney's office to her request for an investigation. After the article, when Ms Simonton made a search in her email for Shandra Handley of the Consumer Fraud and Environmental Protection Unit, County of Santa Cruz, Office of the District Attorney she found the email in her junk mail.
Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Beguiling and pesky squirrels consider themselves local Santa Cruzans too.
Santa Cruz 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. Total known cases as of June 16 were 53,770 up 913 cases from last week's 52,857, rounding off to a 2% rise. Deaths increased by one to 264.

The government is issuing four free Antigen Rapid Tests for free here.

Because of all the home tests currently available, these numbers are underestimates according to Corinne Hyland, County Health Services Agency spokesperson. She recommends people with minor symptoms stay home, isolate and rest.

Total hospitalizations remains at 649. Click to view a graph of hospitalizations here.

There have been changes in the active cases in the last week. Active cases in south county rose by 6%, north county dropped by 8% and mid county increased by 2%. See details in the chart below.

On the county's vaccination webpage, the vaccination rate shows that 81% of the county have had at least one dose and 75% have had two doses. These numbers have not changed since April 10. Here are more details on the county's vaccination data

This webpage also has a link where you can get a digital copy and scannable QR code of your vaccination record. Keep track of your four digit code because that is your access to the site.

The county's Effective Reproductive Number is now above one. See chart below. Numbers above one show the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing.

To get information of COVID-19 testing locations around the county visit this site. Click here to make an appointment to get tested.

Any Californian age 12 or up can get vaccinated for free. For information on getting vaccinated, click here.
% deaths by ethnicity:
White - 57% 
Latinx - 34%
Black - 1% 
Asian - 6%
American Native - 0%
Unknown - 0%

% deaths by gender/% of population:
Female - 49%/50% 
Male - 51%/50% 

Deaths by age/263:
25-34 - 2%
35-44 - 3%
45-54 - 4%
55-59 - 2%
60-64 - 6%
65-74 - 18%
75-84 - 23%
85+ - 43%

% active cases testing positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 13%/12% 
North county - 62%/56% 
South county - 24%/32% 
Under investigation - 1%

Deaths by vaccination status: 
vaccinated - 28/263 = 11%
unvaccinated - 232/263 = 89%
 
Weekly increases in positive tests: 
June 12-19, 2020 - 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%
Nov. 5-12 - 10%
Nov. 12-19 - 11%
Nov. 19-26 - holiday
Nov. 19-Dec. 3 - 29% 2 weeks of data for this week only
Dec. 3-10 - 16%
Dec. 10-17 - 17%
Dec. 17-24 - 14%
Dec. 24-31 - 19%
Jan. 1-7, 2021 - 13%
Jan. 7-14 - 14%
Jan. 15-21 - 11%
Jan. 21-28 - 5%
Jan. 28-Feb. 4 - 5%
Feb. 5-11 - 2%
Feb. 11-18 - 2%
Feb. 18-25 - 1%
Feb. 25-March 5 - 1%
March 5-11 - 1%
March 11-18 - 2%
March 18-25 - .5%
March 25 - Apr. 1 - .7%
Apr. 1-8 - 0.1%
Apr. 9-15 - 1%
Apr. 16-22 - 2%
Apr. 22-30 - 2%
Apr. 30 - May 6 - .3%
May 6-13 - 2%
May 13-20 - 0%
May 24 - Data readjustment by county means percentages cannot be calculated this week.
May 27 - June 3 - 0%
June 3-10 - 0%
June 11-17 - .25%
June 18-24 - 0%
June 25-July 1 - 0%
July 2-8 - .3%
July 9-15 - .2%
July 16-22 - .5%
July 23-29 - 1.2%
July 30-Aug. 5 - 2%
Aug. 6-12 - .7%
Aug.13-19 - 4%
Aug. 20-26 - .7%
Aug. 26-Sept. 2 - 3%
Sept. 2-9 - 2%
Sept. 10-16 - 1%
Sept. 17-22 - 1%
Sept. 23-30 - 2%
Oct. 1-7 - 0%
Oct. 8-14 - 1%
Oct. 15-21 - 1%
Oct. 22-28 - 1%
Oct. 29-Nov. 4 - 1%
Nov. 5-11 - 1%
Nov. 12-18 - 2%
Nov. 19 - Dec. 2 - 2 weeks 2%
Dec. 2-9 - 2%
Dec. 9-16 - 1%
Dec. 16-23 - 1%
Dec. 24-30 - 2%
Dec. 31 - Jan. 6, 2022 - 5% Growth of home tests underestimates cases below. See above .
Jan. 7-13 - 9%
Jan. 14-20 - 15%
Jan. 21-27 - 9%
Jan. 28 - Feb. 3 - 31%
Feb. 3-10 - 3%
Feb. 11-24 (2 weeks) - 5%
Feb. 25- March 3 - 1%
March 4-10 - 1%
March 11-17 - 1%
March 18-24 - 0%
March 25-31 - 1%
Apr. 1-7 - 0%
Apr. 8-14 - 1%
Apr. 15-21 - 1%
Apr. 22-28 - 1%
Apr. 20 - May 5 - 1%
May 6-12 - 2%
May 13-19 - 3%
May 20-26 - 1%
May 27 - June 2 - 1%
June 3 - June 9 - 1%
June 10-16 - 2%
Photo by TARMO HANNULA 
Fashion Street - Flower sellers provide beauty to the streets of Santa Cruz County. Patronize them.
Labor History Calendar for June 17-23, 2022

June 17, 1913: IWW strike at Studebaker.
June 17, 1953: East German workers strike and revolt for democracy; Russia invades to restore law and order.
June 17, 2013: Millions protest transit fares and World Cup costs in Brazil.
June 18, 1984: Striking miners face off against thousands of police at orgreave coking plant in England.
June 18, 1990: Redwood Summer blockade of lumber exports in Sonoma, CA.
June 18, 2012: General strike backs Asturian miners fighting pit closings in Spain.
June 19, 1953: ILWU begins four-day general strike in Hawaii against convictions of 7 unionists under Smith Act.
June 19, 2016: Police murder at least eight striking teachers and students in Oaxaca, Mexico.
June 20, 1893: American Railway Union headed by Eugene Debs founded.
June 21, 1877: 10 Molly Maguires hanged.
June 21, 1919: Police attack crowd, kill two in general strike in Winnipeg, Canada.
June 21, 1945: General strike starts in Nigeria.
June 21, 1964: Chaney, Goodman and Schwerner murdered in Mississippi.
June 22, 1920: Gendarmes open fire following rally to support striking rail workers and five are killed in Milan, Italy.
June 23, 1947: Anti-worker Taft-Hartley Act passed by Congress.


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


“Life is the best thing that has ever been invented."
Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Sweet and Sour Tamarind and Egg Salad  
By SARAH RINGLER                                                 
I probably could start rating my recipes, but what category would I use? Should I rate by difficulty, availability of ingredients, historical or cultural relevance, use of local products or just oddness. This recipe fits in as an oddity, but it is also rather difficult. It makes an interesting summer salad that contains a deep fried egg covered with a dressing made of sweet and sour Thai flavorings.  

Tamarind paste comes from the pods of the tamarind tree and is thought to be native to tropical Africa, although there is a variety that might be native to Mexico that the Aztecs called "guamúchil." The sour and sweetness of the pulp scraped from the inside of ripe dried out pods, has made this food popular and the cultivation of the tree circles a wide tropical band around the earth. It can be eaten from the dried pod or made into sauces; Worcestershire sauce contains it. The name comes from Arabic "tamr-hindi" that means "date of India." It can also be used to polish bronze and copper metals. It is found in Mexican markets in Watsonville. There are cute little clay pots found in Mexican candy stores that contain a sweet, sour and chili tamarind mixture that is popular with kids; one brand is called "Ollita Rica" or roughly, "pot of rich flavors." 

For this recipe, carefully remove the dried and crackly brown covering and separate the pulp from the threads and seeds by scraping it out with a dull knife. You can also buy the pulp in jars or use a few pots of Ollita Ricas. You won't have to add as much sugar or chili then.

I have featured recipes before from this deceptively plain sounding book, “500 Budget Recipes,” edited by Lucy Doncaster available from the Watsonville Public Library. This British cookbook calls for two chopped red chilis. We have a worldwide chili selection here in the Pájaro Valley from Mexican, Californian to many Asian varieties. They come fresh, dried, flaked, powdered and pickled as well as in many, many salsas. Since the recipe leans towards Thailand, you could use red chili paste but add whatever you have around and that you think would work with the Asian theme. Also, buy fresh mung bean sprouts close to the time you are going to make this dish; they go limp and slimy quickly. 


6 large eggs
2 cups or more depending on the size of your saucepan of sunflower or peanut oil for deep fat frying
½ cup palm, Demerara, turbinado or brown sugar
6 tablespoons tamarind juice/paste, 6-8 pods
5 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
2 tablespoons water
6 shallots, finely sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 serrano chili, minced - or other chili source as desired
4 ounces or 3 cups of salad greens
Small handful of cilantro
1 ounce of fresh bean sprouts

Place the eggs in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and boil for 4 minutes. Remove eggs from the pan with a slotted spoon, drain and rinse in cold water. Remove the shells and set aside. 

In a deep saucepan or wok, add 2 inches oil. Turn the heat to almost high and heat until a cube of bread turns golden in 15 seconds. Never leave the stove when deep fat frying like this. Using a slotted spoon, drop the eggs slowly and carefully into the hot fat. Do not overcrowd. Do this in batches if you are using a pan with a narrow diameter. Deep fry for 2-3 minutes until eggs are lightly golden. Remove from pan, drain on paper towels and keep warm. Set pan aside in a safe place to cool off.

In another saucepan, add the sugar, tamarind paste, fish sauce and water. Bring to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Reduce heat and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Put into a bowl and set aside.

Using the saucepan where you fried the eggs, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the oil. You can save the rest by straining out any solids, let the oil cool and refrigerate in a glass jar to use again at a later date. 

Turn up the heat. When hot, add the shallots, garlic and chilis and fry until they are golden and crispy.        

In a large salad bowl, toss the washed and dried lettuce leaves, cilantro and bean sprouts. Add the tamarind mixture and toss some more. Divide among 4 plates. Cut the fried eggs in half and add 3 halves to each salad plate. Sprinkle the shallot, garlic and chili mix over the eggs and serve immediately.     
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 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. 
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