Permits? We don't need no stinkin' permits!
By THOMAS LEAVITT
Photo by TARMO HANNULA
The Santa Cruz City Council just unanimously passed Ordinance No. 2021-13, amending Chapters 10.64, 10.65, and 4.02 of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code related to Special Events. This is "bureaucrat speak" for requiring a permit if you want to organize a protest of any substance on public property (i.e., streets, parks, sidewalks, City Hall, etc.). The entire concept is anathema to the First Amendment, but this regulation, in particular, has multiple highly obnoxious elements, as outlined in the following letter (prepared with the assistance of an experienced public interest law attorney) that I sent prior to Tuesday's City Council meeting. In particular, I want to call out these sections of 10.65.050: (e) if an event "may result in a donation to a non-profit", that alone triggers the need for a permit; (f) the threshold for an unpermitted protest is less than 50 people; (h) limits the time allowed for an unpermitted protest to no more than one hour. The permitting officer also has the authority to require a permit even in the absence of any triggering conditions!
City staff say that they've been very careful in applying the law and, without substantiation, that no one's First Amendment rights have been affected. This, of course, translates to highly selective enforcement. This regulation is clearly aimed squarely at folks like Food Not Bombs, and anarchist events like the DIY First Night parade. It becomes another "tool" in the box for police to criminalize otherwise legal conduct and impose liabilities on people who are not in a position to risk them, making protest a privilege of wealth, status, and connections - not a right. Practically speaking, the only way to overturn this law is a lawsuit, which has to be filed in a very short time frame (90 days from passage of the ordinance). I'm working on recruiting a lawyer willing to take the lead in this case, as well as trying to engage organizations like the First Amendment Coalition and Public Citizen. To seed the effort, I'm willing to match the first $500 in donations (yes, a pittance compared to what this lawsuit would likely ultimately cost) towards this effort. I can be reached at thomas@thomasleavitt.org, or 831-469-3382 (text/voicemail).
See Thomas's letter to the city council here.
Here are the amendments to Ordinance No. 2021-13, Chapters 10.64, 10.65, and 4.02 of the Santa Cruz Municipal Code related to Special Events.
10.65.050 PUBLIC GATHERING AND EXPRESSION EVENT
As used in this chapter, a “public gathering and expression event”, consistent with the definition in 10.65.040, is a noncommercial public assembly, the primary purpose of which is the exercise of the participants’ constitutional rights of free speech and assembly:
(a) Which is scheduled to take place on public property; a city sidewalk, alley or other right-ofway; city park; city beach; and/or city facility; and/or
(b) Which is likely to obstruct, delay or interfere with the normal flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic; and/or
(c) Which due to the crowd it generates, restricts access to or use of sidewalks, parks, beaches or other public areas; and/or
(d) Which will result in the placement of structures or objects on streets or sidewalks exceeding twelve square feet in size or six feet in height; and/or
(e) Which may result in donations for non-profit organizations; and/or (f) Which will have more than fifty participants; and/or
(g) Which may require additional temporary toilet and sanitary facilities if such facilities already available will be inadequate to meet the need created by event participants; and/or ORDINANCE NO. 2021-13 20
(h) Which will be scheduled for longer than one hour; and/or (i) Displays and/or gatherings that are scheduled for longer than one day, which are scheduled overnight, or which require a street closure shall be governed by Chapter 10.64; and/or
(j) Rally and/or marches to be conducted on a city street rather than a city sidewalk require a street closure and are subject to the conditions of Chapter 10.64.
10.65.060 PERMIT REQUIRED. Any person or organization intending to conduct a public gathering and expression event in the city of Santa Cruz shall first obtain a permit from the permit officer.
10.65.070 EXCEPTIONS. A permit is not required for the following events:
(a) An event held exclusively within a city park:
1) Which does not have the potential to cause or is not anticipated to cause an impact as described in Section 10.65.050. Although a permit under this chapter may not be needed, applications, reservations, fees, and other conditions may be required by the city’s parks and recreation department in order to use a city park, beach, facility, and/or other areas within the parks and recreation department’s jurisdiction.
2) The permit officer shall determine if the proposed event nonetheless has the potential to cause an impact such as that described in Section 10.65.050 to require a permit. The permit officer shall make this determination and inform the event organizer as soon as reasonably practicable from the time the permit officer is notified of the proposed event so as not to frustrate the purpose or timing of the event when time is of the essence. The permit officer may then require the event organizer to comply with the provisions of this chapter or to submit an application pursuant to Chapter 10.64.
(b) A public gathering and expression event which in the estimation of the permit officer, and for which the event organizer makes the following guarantees to the satisfaction of the permit officer that the event:
1) Involves less than fifty participants;
2) Participants will assemble and/or march only on sidewalks;
3) Participants will cross streets only at crosswalks in units of twenty-five or less allowing vehicles to pass between each unit;
4) Participants will provide adult monitors who will assist in crossings as needed;
5) Participants will obey all traffic controls and regulations; ORDINANCE NO. 2021-13 21
6) Participants will not obstruct sidewalks or otherwise impede the orderly flow of foot traffic on sidewalks;
7) Participants will not place structures or objects on sidewalks exceeding twelve square feet in size or six feet in height between sunset and sunrise;
8) Participants will obey all applicable laws, statutes and ordinances;
9) Participants will not obstruct necessary maintenance and cleaning of streets, sidewalks, or other public facilities;
10) Adequate toilet and sanitary facilities are available. If in the estimation of the permit officer toilet or sanitary facilities will be inadequate to meet the need for such facilities created by event participants, the organizer of the event shall meet with the city department responsible for the public facility where the event is to take place and reach an agreement for the provision of additional temporary toilet and sanitary facilities, or otherwise provide for adequate facilities;
11) Any signage used will not be of such a dimension or used in such a manner that such signage may impede or obstruct pedestrians on sidewalks or vehicles on streets.
View the complete ordinance here.
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Support SC City Councilmember Sandy Brown
By CHRIS KROHN
The economic forces that are turning Santa Cruz city into their own personal ATM are on the attack. Here is an attack piece by Chamber of Commerce honcho, Casey Beyer, excoriating Sandy for voting against the regressive quarter cent sales tax. Please write to the Sentinel and Good Times and Patch (by hitting the Reply button), letting them know your feelings and why Sandy Brown made the right and courageous decision.
Why did the polling and committee not consider and put before the council a hotel tax increase or increase in real estate transfer tax or an empty homes tax?
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Support Secret Garden Women's Shelter
As government pandemic funding for homeless shelters comes to an end, Santa Cruz is in a crisis situation with women as the most vulnerable in this dynamic. Warming Center Program and Footbridge Homeless Services Center has been working with local women and they've coalesced into a support group to help create and open Secret Garden Women's Shelter, an ideal space in which to open an overnight residency shelter for women.
We're excited to announce that we're well on our way towards opening the shelter and we're working as a community to serve our community. One of our first activities is to hold a summertime dinner event.
Here are ways you can help:
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
A wren tit out in the brush by the barn at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve.
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"The concept of inclusion has fit nicely into the neoliberal framework of individualism and meritocracy. Individual women such as Hillary Clinton have been heralded examples of the fruits of feminism. Former president Barak Obama in 2008 has been popularly described as a reflection of Martin Luther King's "dream" of a more equal society. In other words, Clinton and Obama's existence in high political office made the U.S. a more exceptional, perfect union. Meanwhile, as individuals such as Clinton and Obama made lucrative political careers as the faces of inclusion, millions of women and people of color fell into poverty, incarceration, displacement and death in record numbers at the hards of the American neoliberal state."
Roberto Sirvent and Danny Haiphong in their book "American Exceptionalism and American Innocence"
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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. The number of cases on Thursday totaled 16,246, up 14 from last Thursday's 16,232. There were no new deaths and the number remains at 207. There were no changes in all the categories.
Santa Cruz County has not had a new Press Release since May 28. For updates from the state, go here.
The county's Effective Reproductive Number is staying 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. Other testing sites that may have restricted access can be found here.
For vaccine information in Santa Cruz County, click here.
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% deaths by ethnicity/% of population:
White - 55%/58%
Latinx - 36%/34%
Black - 0/1%
Asian - 7%/4%
American Native - 0.5%/not available
% deaths by gender/% of population:
Female - 51%/50%
Male - 49%/50%
Other - 0
Under Investigation - 0
Deaths by age/202:
30-39 - 2%
40-49 - 3%
50-59 - 2%
60-69 - 13%
70-79 - 21%
80-89 - 31%
90+ - 27%
Tested positive by region/% of population:
Mid-county - 21%/12%
North county - 20%/60%
South county - 58%/29%
Under investigation - 0%
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%
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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 - 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%
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Fashion Street - Barbie's Shit box
By SARAH RINGLER
Pink has been "the" color on the streets of Santa Cruz this year.
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Labor History Calendar for June 25-July 1:
June 25, 1994: Decatur, Il. police pepper-gas workers at AE. Staley plant gate.(ed. note: Mistakenly added last week on June 24.)
June 25, 2018: General Strike against austerity in Argentina.
June 26, 1894: ARU refuses to handle Pullman cars in solidarity with strikers who built them.
June 26, 1917: Copper bosses reject Bisbee, Arizona miners' demands sparking IWW strike the next day.
June 27, 1869: Emma Goldman born.
June 27, 1905: Industrial Workers of the World have their founding convention in Chicago.
June 27, 1993: A.E. Staley locks out 763 workers in Decatur, Il.
June 28, 1816: Luddites smash 53 frames at Heathcoat & Boden's Mill in Loughborough, England. Troops crush rebellion with six executed.
June 29, 1936: IWW strikes Weyerhauser and other Idaho lumber camps.
June 29, 1956: General strikes in Poland.
June 29, 1996: 1,200 prisoners in Tripoli's Abu Salim jail massacred in revenge for protesting jail conditions in Libya.
June 30, 1892: Homestead strike begins.
June 30, 1912: Maritine workers strike East Coast steamship lines, union scabbing leads many to join IWW.
June 30, 1919: Canadian government raids union.
June 30. 2011: 200,000 strike against cuts to UK public worker pensions.
July 1, 1922: One million railway shopmen strike across the US.
July 1, 1992: Police fire on labor protest, kill 20 in Madhya Pradesh, India.
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Luddites
By SARAH RINGLER
Luddites were a 19th century secret organization of English textile workers who destroyed textile machinery as a form of protest. Many were workshop owners who had spent years, and in some cases generations, learning and perfecting their craft. Machines could make similar items cheaper, faster and needed few workers; the buying public succumbed. The movement lasted from 1811-1816 when it was suppressed by legal and military force. The name came from a fictional apprentice weaver named Ned Ludd who is said to have destroyed two stocking frames in a fit of rage in 1779. Over time he came to be called General Ludd, and lived in Sherwood Forest with Robin Hood. (1812 hand colored etching above, "The Leader of the Luddites" is from Wikipedia.)
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Help Wanted - Santa Cruz Food Not Bombs
Are you interested in being more involved with Food Not Bombs but unsure as to how? We have a volunteer position for you! We're requesting one or two volunteers who can commit, on a weekly basis, to organizing produce at Joe's (of India Joze) shipping container in Happy Valley and bringing it to the little red church downtown.
This volunteer position would require communicating with a cook in the church kitchen about the amount of space in the fridge, communicating with Joe about what's in the shipping container, and transporting boxes of produce from Happy Valley to downtown Santa Cruz. The task would take about 3-4 hours once a week, on a day that works best for the volunteer but preferably a consistent day of the week. Please respond if you're interested! You'd make a great addition and be a major boon to the Food Not Bombs crew. Contact Laura Chatham.
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Photo by TARMO HANNULA
Cashew coconut meatballs with creamy tomato sauce
By SARAH RINGLER
Like many recipes from Christopher Kimball’s cookbook, “Milk Street Tuesday Nights” the flavors in these meatballs are subtle and original. Ground cashews and chopped cilantro mixed with ground beef form the base of these meatballs. Indian flavors from garam masala and coconut milk add the highlights as the meatballs finish cooking in a delicate tomato sauce.
Garam masala is a spice mixture common in the Indian subcontinent and South Africa. An ancient kind of medicine practiced in India for around 2,000 years called Ayurveda - meaning knowledge of life and longevity in Sanskrit - credits consuming garam masala with warming the body. Although like many spice blends around the world that differ regionally, common ingredients are fennel, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon, curry leaf, cumin and coriander. Curry leaf is from a tree that like bay leaves, are added to a dish then removed before serving. I have not found curry leaf locally but found Exotica Rare Fruit Nursery in Vista, California, where you can buy Murraya koenigii starter shoots or trees. They also carry turmeric plants, Thai lime trees and other “exotics,” but there are travel restrictions on importing some of these.
I served the meatballs with a raita made with chopped cucumbers and yogurt.
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons of neutral oil
1 large onion, chopped
5 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 ¼ cup unsalted roasted cashews
2 cups lightly packed cilantro
1 pound ground beef
¾ cup coconut milk, divided
1 large egg plus one egg yolk
2 teaspoon garam masala, divided
Salt and pepper
14 ½ ounce can crushed tomatoes
Toast coconut over medium heat in a 12-inch frying pan, stirring until golden in about 2 minutes. Put in a large bowl and set aside.
In the same frying pan over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil. When oil shimmers, add onion and garlic and cook until golden, stirring often, for about 7-9 minutes. Put onto a small plate and set aside.
In a food processor, pulse cashews until finely ground. Set aside ¼ cup. Then add 1 ½ cups of the cilantro and pulse until finely chopped. Add to the bowl with the toasted coconut. Add 1/3 cup of the onion mixture to the same bowl. Then add the beef, ¼ cup coconut milk, the egg, the egg yolk, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 2 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Mix well and shape into 16, 2-inch diameter meat balls and place on a large plate. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
In the same frying pan, heat remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium heat. When shimmering, add meatballs in a single layer and cook until brown on their bottoms in about 2-3 minutes. Add remaining onion mixture, coconut milk, garam masala and 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper and all of the tomato sauce. Stir gently making sure meatballs are not stuck to the pan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, cover, reduce heat to medium low and cook gently until done in about 12-15 minutes.
Transfer to a serving plate can top with the rest of the cilantro and cashews.
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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 © 2021 Sarah Ringler - All rights reserved
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