JUNE 2021 VOL. 8, NO. 22
BUILDING BETTER LIVES New mid-county health and housing campus is a revolutionary approach to healthcare in Santa Cruz County BY JOHANNA MILLER
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e’ve all been pretty obsessed with the idea of returning to some sense of “normal,” but I think this month’s issue of Aptos Life goes beyond that to consider how we can actually improve our lives and the lives of others in our community in a bigger, more lasting way. Johanna Miller’s cover story, for instance, looks at how the huge new health and housing complex that just broke ground in Live Oak will improve the lives of thousands of people in Santa Cruz County. (That’s Dientes CEO Laura Marcus and Santa Cruz Community Health CEO Leslie Conner on the cover at the groundbreaking; photo by Kevin Painchaud.) County Supervisor Zach Friend takes a look in his column at what a new state budget—and the $100 billion in additional funding it represents—will mean to our community. Soren Croxall explains why an improving economy brings talk of inflation, and how it could affect you. And John Hibble tells the story of the man who changed Aptos forever by starting the first library here. The Aptos Chamber of Commerce is encouraging our local businesses to change it up, too, with their Red, White and Blue Decorating Contest. They’ll be celebrating the Fourth of July all week long next month, July 1-5, and businesses can go to the chamber’s website to register, and then decorate their storefronts with a red, white and blue theme. Judging starts on July 1 and the winner will be announced July 6. Go to aptoschamber.com for more info. Thanks for reading! STEVE PALOPOLI, Editor
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Cover Story
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History Corner
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Word from a Friend
10 Financial Advice CEO & Executive Editor
Dan Pulcrano Vice President
Lee May Publisher
Jeanie Johnson Editor
Steve Palopoli Managing Edior
Alisha Green Contributing writers
John Hibble Zach Friend Johanna Miller Gary E. Croxall Soren E. Croxall Photography
Tarmo Hannula Cover photo
Kevin Painchaud Cover design
Kara Brown Advertising Director
Debra Whizin Advertising Sales
Tiffani Petrov Kate Kauffman Production
Rob Chalhoub Hon Truong
Aptos Life is published monthly. All rights reserved, material may not be reprinted without written consent from the publisher. Aptos Life made every effort to maintain the accuracy of information presented in this publication, but assumes no responsibility for errors, changes or omissions. Aptos Life is a division of the Pajaronian. Publishing in Santa Cruz County since 1868.
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KICKING OFF
Congressman Jimmy Panetta speaks at the groundbreaking ceremony for the new health and housing campus at 1500 Capitola Road.
Johanna Miller
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HER0 4
Massive new health and housing campus in Live Oak will serve thousands in Santa Cruz County
COMPLEX O By JOHANNA MILLER
n May 22, hundreds gathered at 1500 Capitola Road in Live Oak to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new mixed-use development project that will be the first of its kind in Santa Cruz County. The project will be a health and housing campus, with a 20,000-square-foot medical clinic, an 11-chair dental clinic,
57 units of affordable housing and a public plaza. It will provide health care for up to 10,000 patients and housing for 157 people. The idea for the campus first formed after county supervisor John Leopold held a public meeting about what the community envisioned for the location. MidPen Housing, a nonprofit aiming to provide high-quality and affordable ➝ 6
HISTORY CORNER
The First Friend
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PULP FICTION The library building at the Norton Phelps Lumber Company in Aptos Village. lights and water. (This was at the height of the Depression.) These were the days when apples were the main industry in town, so David collected 30 to 40 wooden apple boxes and stacked them up six high as shelves for the books. Once a week he borrowed his Mother’s Ford Model A coupe and took an apple crate full of books down to the main library in Santa Cruz to exchange them for a new selection. For over two years, he opened the library two afternoons and three evenings a week and circulated 40-50 books per week. The collection contained mysteries
and westerns, gift magazines, nonfiction books and jigsaw puzzles. Many of the reference books had been brought from David’s home, which included the World Book Encyclopedia, World Almanac and dictionaries. Soon, everyone was bringing in their own magazines and puzzles and exchanging them. The library closed in October 1935. Most accounts suggest that David left because he wanted to visit Mexico, but in an interview with Carolyn Swift, David said that Minerva Waterman, the librarian, became angry because he added an anthropological
JUNE 2021 2021 || APTOS APTOS LIFE LIFE JUNE
he Friends of the Aptos Library have a program called Our Community Reads, which asks everyone to read the same book, and a series of special events are planned to enrich the experience for those people who do. The Friends also hold book sales and fundraisers to make our library a better place for all of us. But, what if there were no By John Hibble Aptos Library? Aptos History Museum Our story begins with the very first “friend” who started the library. Upon completing high school, David McFadden moved to Aptos with his parents in 1929. For his first local job, he worked for Bob and Kate Menefee at the Ocean House Hotel on Aptos Street where today’s Aptos Street BBQ is located. Bob Menefee ran the grocery store downstairs and Kate took care of the guest rooms upstairs. David McFadden worked from 6am to 9pm daily, for which he was paid $1 per day plus all his meals. Later, David worked in a Watsonville pharmacy. David noticed that there wasn’t much to read in Aptos except magazines like Captain Billy’s Whiz Bang, which was long on humor but short on educational content. David’s appetite for books began to get the better of him. In 1931, David went to see Minerva Waterman, the Santa Cruz City/County librarian who held that position for 40 years. David’s parents owned the Harper building, a stucco fronted building in Aptos Village. Part of the building was vacant and would be perfect for a small library. Minerva Waterman agreed to pay $5 a month for
book about Southeast Asia to the local collection. The book contained a lot of “interesting pictures” of which Minerva Waterman did not approve. David McFadden wound up being the assistant librarian at Cabrillo College for 16 years. The original library building did not fare as well. The old Harper building, which then housed a barbershop and an interior design business, was destroyed by the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. Aptos was without a library until May 1944. Gas was being rationed because of World War II, so Aptos residents were seldom able to drive to the Santa Cruz library. Hellen Wikkerink started collecting discarded books and Geraldine Work, the Santa Cruz librarian, arranged for a starter collection of 200 books with some specifically for children. The provision was that the location had to be rent-free and Wikkerink the librarian had to be a volunteer. A tiny space was provided by Paul Johnson in the Aptos Market. A furniture fundraiser was sponsored by the Aptos Chamber of Commerce, the Rio del Mar Improvement Association and the Seacliff Association. Library hours were 2:30 to 5:30 Monday and Wednesday afternoons. The library soon relocated to the abandoned office of the Norton Phelps Lumber Company behind today’s Aptos Station shopping center. The library moved several more times: first to Fred Toney’s drug store beside the Bay View Hotel; in 1952, it relocated in the same building, facing Trout Gulch Road Wikkerink retired in 1962. As the library grew, it was relocated to Rancho Del Mar shopping center on Dec. 15, 1964. In 1971, a search was conducted for a permanent library location, and the new library at the corner of Soquel Drive and Ledyard Way was dedicated June 28, 1975. The library opened for business on Monday, June 30, circulating 1,142 books, and it continues to be one of the busiest libraries in the system. ➝7 Our county suffered
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PUTTING ON A CLINIC A conceptual drawing of the planned 20,000-square-
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housing projects, was interested— though they needed a commercial component to move forward. Meanwhile, Leslie Conner, CEO of Santa Cruz Community Health (SCCH) and Laura Marcus, CEO of Dientes Community Dental Care, were looking to join forces at the East Cliff Family Health Center. Things had not been working out at the location, so they set their sights on 1500 Capitola Road. Jan Lindenthal, chief real estate development officer for MidPen, said they saw an opportunity for the three nonprofits to come together. “We had our own goals, but we recognized the powerful overlap between our missions,” she said. “Healthy communities include access to quality health care that we can all afford and access to safe, beautiful homes that we can all afford.” Added Sheree Storm, chief development officer for Dientes: “This project happened through relationships, conversations. Everyone involved … saw that need for health and housing that is so prevalent in our community. This new campus really addresses that need head-on.” This will be MidPen’s 15th affordable-housing community in the county. Fifteen of the homes will be reserved for formerly homeless individuals and families, Lindenthal said. According to a press release from Dientes, up to 26% of Live Oak School District students are
homeless. In addition, thousands of adults do not have a doctor, and 78% of adults on MediCal do not have a dentist. At the groundbreaking, U.S. Congressman Jimmy Panetta spoke about the number of crises that Santa Cruz County has dealt with recently—wildfires, sea level rise, Covid-19, homelessness, lack of accessible health care— and how all of these issues could not be addressed without the community working together. “What I appreciate about the people who live here is that we understand that we cannot solve these issues alone,” Panetta said. “One person cannot solve these issues unless we have the relationships, the trust, the leadership and, yes, the partnerships that we see here today.” Dientes, SCCH and MidPen have been working with other organizations, agencies and individuals on the project, including health care partners such as the California Health Facilities Financing Authority, Dominican Hospital, Kaiser Permanente and the Central California Alliance for Health (CCAH). In early May, they received major support when CCAH announced they would be investing over $6M into the project—the largest collective contribution to date. “The project would never have gotten off the ground without the Alliance and many others in our community who are stepping ➝ 7
HERO COMPLEX
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up to make this dream a reality,” Marcus stated in a press release. The Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County has also raised $2.2 million. At the groundbreaking, Foundation CEO Susan True spoke about how she got involved in the project and her past in Live Oak. “I think about everything great in our community as something that started as a dream,” True said. “A dream by people who just had a seed of an idea and a devotion to this place. When I was 22 and a new foster mom, totally broke, just starting [my] career … this community welcomed me and my dream to have a safe and permanent home for me and my son.” Storm pointed out that the 1500 Capitola Road project will also greatly support the local economy. She estimated the impact to be about $45 million through new jobs, taxes and services. “Of course it’s fantastic to get health and housing, but the economy being built around this is also a huge plus,” she said. At the groundbreaking, a
HISTORY CORNER
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contains a collection of amazing artifacts, photographs and stories collected over the last 35 years. We have been able to share these stories with residents, visitors and the third-grade school children studying local history, but the effort to raise funds to keep this free museum afloat has been a struggle. Cabrillo historian emeritus Sandy Lydon has always said that history needs to be out where people can find it. We have had small history displays at local banks and the Sheriff ’s Service Center, but Second District Supervisor Zach Friend decided that these amazing exhibits should grace the interior of the new Aptos Library where everyone can enjoy them and be educated and entertained about what an amazing place Aptos is. If you enjoy these stories, please consider joining the museum. Thank you for the many generous donations that help keep the museum open. Our current hours are Monday-Thursday, 11am-4pm.
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substantial damage from the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake, which happened in 1989 in Nisene Marks State Park in Aptos. The Aptos Library was no exception and had to be repaired. The library is now 45 years old, and it is time for a do-over. Thanks to a special tax, called Measure S, that was approved by voters in June 2016, Aptos will have a new, larger library constructed in place of the existing building. It was determined that it was less expensive to demolish and rebuild than to retrofit the existing branch. Demolition will begin in June, in coordination with the new Capitola Branch opening. Construction should be completed and the branch should open at the end of 2022. This is a great historical moment for our community. As I write this, the Aptos History Museum is celebrating 15 years as a freestanding entity, which
handful of community members took to the mic to acknowledge the organizations and to express their eagerness for the new center. This included Diana Valdez, a patient who had discovered a small lump in her breast that quickly grew. Not only did SCCH provide her with the care she needed and treat her with respect—they also offered her son counseling to help him deal with her illness, she said. In addition, her children have used Dientes’ dental care services. “My children are happy with the experiences they have had during their regular visits to Dientes,” Diana adds. “They talk with their friends and tell them to not be afraid to go to the dentist. The new clinics will help mothers like me who do not drive and have to walk for 30 or 40 minutes to get to our appointments.” The six-building complex is being built by Bogard Construction and designed by Wald, Ruhnke & Dost Architects. Completion of the clinics is scheduled for 2022, and the housing in 2023. To learn more, visit 1500capitolaroad.org.
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WORD FROM A FRIEND
The State’s $100 Billion Boost
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ov. Gavin Newsom recently proposed what is believed to be the largest economic recovery package in California history. What exactly is part of this recent budget proposal (colloquially called the “May Revise”), and how will some of it impact Santa Cruz County? Here is a look at the proposed state budget and some key elements.
Budget Process The state constitution requires the governor to submit a balanced budget proposal to the legislature by Jan. 10 of each year. This initial budget is generally revised closer to June in the “May Revise” as more details become known about the economic health of the state. Like our local county budget, the budget document outlines the state’s spending plan for the fiscal year beginning on July 1. Nearly immediately after the introduction in January, the state Legislative Analyst’s Office, the legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal advisor, publishes a series of reports that review the governor’s budget proposal. These analyses often inform the budget debate in the Assembly and the Senate and include economic projections, context and background information and possible revisions. Ultimately, the legislature has until June 15 to pass the budget.
JUNE APTOSLIFE LIFE JUNE2021 2021 || APTOS
Proposed Investments
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This year’s budget revision from the governor includes $100 billion in funding with about 90% of the proposed increases for one-time costs, many spread over multiple years, and the other 10% for ongoing programs. Total reserves at the end of the fiscal year are projected to total $24.4 billion. For Santa Cruz County, some of the items of greatest interest include investments to combat homelessness, housing supports
continuum of behavioral for behavioral health, climate, health treatment resources. water and forest resilience and broadband infrastructure. Additionally, the governor has Community proposed to provide $600 to $1,100 Resilience Funding tax rebates to many Californians, double rental assistance to $11.4 The May Revise could provide billion, provide $2 billion of utility local funding in different ways. bill assistance, and significantly For example, counties will be able expand tax exemptions, tax to access grant funding through a incentives, and fund grants to new “Prepare California” program small businesses. at CalOES. Counties Schools, likewise, with fairgrounds and will enjoy record-high other local facilities funding levels. Total that are regularly used for disaster and funding, including oneevacuation will have time federal funding, access to funding for in the budget for K-12 significant upgrades public schools will exceed through a new California $20,000 per pupil for the Department of Food and first time. In addition, Agriculture allocation. the governor is proposing Specifically, the universal transitional By Zach Friend proposal includes kindergarten for all 4 Santa Cruz County year olds. The UC, CSU, Supervisor $250 million in onetime funds to develop and community college and implement a new systems are also receiving initiative, Prepare California, notable increases. modeled after a successful Here is a more in-depth look at FEMA program. It’s designed some of these line items and things to build disaster-resistant that could end up providing some communities through state, local, level of funding to our county: federal, and private sector and nongovernmental organization Homelessness Funding partnerships. $150 million For homelessness, the proposed is proposed to support the budget includes funding for development and enhancement Project Roomkey—$150 million to of community resilience support the stability of the state’s centers. Funding could be used FEMA-funded non-congregate to support infrastructure for shelter population and transition emergency evacuation, shelter, individuals from Project Roomkey base camps during emergency into permanent housing following events, and critical deferred the September 2021 sunset of the maintenance. Elements for federal reimbursement. It also this infrastructure may include includes $2.75 billion over two cooling and heating centers, years for additional acquisitions clean air centers, and extended and rehabilitation of sites through emergency evacuation response these programs. Other funding centers. These centers could includes supportive services for be equipped with community formerly homeless veterans—$25 kitchens, shower facilities, million to administer a competitive broadband, back- up power, grant program to support aging and other community needs due veterans and $1.4 billion in 2022to wildfires, floods, and other 23 to construct, acquire and emergencies or climate events. rehabilitate behavioral health For wildfire protection, the May assets to expand the community Revision proposes to maintain
the governor’s January budget proposal with $708 million in 2021-22 to support the Forest Management Task Force’s Wildfire and Forest Resilience Action Plan, while adding $38.9 million to support the staffing of three additional California National Guard crews for a total of 13 fire crews from July through December, and continue staffing eight additional Cal Fire crews that began in April.
Broadband The governor is proposing to invest over $7 billion in broadband infrastructure. If approved, on top of other proposals at the state, the investments could lead to significant broadband improvements throughout the state. The funding would extend reliable high-speed access to homes and businesses and build a backbone infrastructure that will make future investments more efficient and competitive. Of the $7 billion, the proposal calls for $4 billion for a statewide middle-mile network, reducing the cost of future last-mile deployment and increasing competition and affordability. Another $2 billion will support last-mile fiber through an existing state subsidy program, providing 100 Mbps broadband to those without. Additionally, $35 million is slated to expand broadband access to isolated and underserved communities through a collaborative partnership of local education agencies, regional libraries, and telehealth providers. This is just an outline of the significant number of budget proposals and how they may impact our area. At this point, they are just proposals and still need adoption by the legislature. If you would like to see more information you can visit the state’s budget site at ebudget.ca.gov. As always, if you have any questions about this or any other county issue, feel free to contact me at 831-454-2200.
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FINANCIAL ADVICE
Why Does Inflation Matter?
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as “too many dollars chasing too few goods.” The Fed, however, says they are more concerned about not doing enough to aid in the economic recovery, and right now they see any increase in inflation as being more of a short-term issue. You might be thinking, “Why do we want inflation at all?” Modest inflation What is is a sign of a healthy Inflation? Soren E. Croxall economy. If people Financial Advice know that prices In its simplest definition, are going to rise in inflation is the rise in the future, it spurs the average cost of goods them to consume today versus and services over time. Until waiting. This keeps supply and recently, the Federal Reserve demand more in balance. If we (“the Fed”) set a target inflation enter a period of deflation (i.e., rate of 2%. However, in August falling price levels) consumers 2020, it tweaked its stance to say are disincentivized to buy now that it would target an “average” because they believe prices will inflation rate of 2% over the long be cheaper in the future. This, in run. Essentially the Fed is saying turn, cuts into businesses’ bottom that they will allow inflation to lines, as they aren’t selling as creep above the 2% for a period much (or eventually having to of time to help ensure maximum sell their goods at a lower price), employment before they will begin which means they must cut costs using some of the tools in their (i.e., payroll) to stay afloat. This is arsenal to bring inflation back not a good cycle. On the flip side, down. With what has happened what about runaway inflation as a result of the pandemic, the (such as existed in the 1970s)? Fed wants to ensure that the Also not good as consumers buy economy has enough time to now (because they believe prices recover and that the labor market, will increase rapidly) which can which fell into a deep hole last create the illusion of demand and year, has ample time to recover. businesses in turn continue to Being too aggressive to address increase their prices in response. rising inflation too early in an The main tool that the Fed has economic recovery could backfire. at its disposal to control inflation The current concern among is to increase the federal funds economists is that the amount rate, which is the rate banks of fiscal stimulus being pumped charge to borrow from each other. into the economy, coupled with Doing this discourages borrowing the reopening and loosening of by effectively causing shorthealth measures, could cause a term interest rates to increase, rapid increase in demand that and leads to potential delays outstrips supply, which could in consumption. In theory, this cause the economy to overheat, should slow down the economy thus leading to persistently higher and thus cause inflation to hold steady or fall. When the inflation. This is often referred to
JUNE APTOS LIFE LIFE JUNE 2021 2021 || APTOS
s inflation picking up, or just the expectation of inflation? Is inflation a bad thing? How does inflation affect me? These are just a few of the questions our clients have been asking recently, so we thought it would be a good time to talk about inflation in a little more detail.
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If inflation grows too much and incomes or investments returns don’t keep up, you lose purchasing power over time. pandemic took hold last spring, the Fed slashed the target fed funds rate to near zero in an attempt to bolster the economy by encouraging borrowing and increasing the money supply.
How Inflation Affects You If inflation grows too much and incomes or investments returns don’t keep up, you lose purchasing power over time. For example, if you earn next to nothing in your bank account, but inflation is 2%, you haven’t been able to keep up with inflation, and thus your cash doesn’t go as far as it used to. For investments, the effects of inflation can be most directly seen with fixed income (bond) holdings. If you own a plain vanilla bond as an example, you receive a fixed interest payment, called a coupon, over a specified period of time. However, if prices start to increase due to inflation and you continue to receive the same fixed interest payment, your purchasing power has been eroded. Rising inflation can also potentially have an adverse effect on the value of bonds for bondholders who plan to sell their bonds prior to maturity. For stocks, the relationship with inflation is somewhat more indirect. For companies that have a lot of control over pricing, they may be able to increase the price of
their goods as inflation increases which may lead to higher earnings. However, companies that aren’t able to pass on price increases as easily to the end consumer may not fare as well during periods of increased inflation. Inflation is a definite factor investors need to consider when they design and implement their overall investment portfolio. Planning for a long retirement means attempting to maintain the same standard of living you currently enjoy. Not keeping up with inflation will simply reduce your real “purchasing power” over time. Portfolios don’t need to necessarily be 100% inflation sensitive, but they should be diversified enough to have an opportunity to potentially outpace inflation over time and achieve “real growth.” Soren Croxall, CFA, CFP® is a registered representative of LPL Financial Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial, member FINRA/SIPC, a Registered Investment Advisor. LPL Financial and Croxall Capital Planning do not provide tax or legal advice. The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.
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