MARCH 16, 2022 • VOL. 9, NO. 9
Adulting
Anthem
Local musician and Cabrillo alum Michael Gaither’s latest speaks to a generation BY HUGH MCCORMICK
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Cabrillo graduate and longtime local musician, Michael Gaither is one of those hardworking, community-minded songwriters who also happens to be a great guy. As such, I think he deserves every bit of success he gets. And in this weird, post-music-business world, success comes in different ways. For Gaither, there’s his work with KPIG radio, which is still the most influential and trendsetting station in this area. And now he’s got a song, “We’re the Elders Now,” that’s catching the ears of listeners who themselves are in that nebulous space between feeling young and facing down a whole new world of responsibilities we once looked to our parents to take care of. Not everybody can write a generational anthem, but Hugh McCormick’s profile of Gaither in this issue gives some real insight into why he was able to knock this one out of the park. It’s also interesting how the song turned from sort of a lament to a tribute to family—the people we do all this growing up for in the first place. 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
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Local Scene
10 Financial Advice CEO & Executive Editor
Dan Pulcrano Vice President
Lee May Publisher
Jeanie Johnson Editor
Steve Palopoli Contributing writers
John Hibble Zach Friend Johanna Miller Soren E. Croxall Hugh McCormick Photography
Tarmo Hannula Cover photo
Courtesy Michael Gaither Advertising Director
Debra Whizin
Advertising Sales
Tiffani Petrov Kate Kauffman Ilana Packer Lisa Buckley Sue Lamothe Editorial Production Manager
Phaedra Strecher 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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Elder
Statesmen Michael Gaither’s KPIG anthem ‘We’re the Elders Now’ is less about age than it is about attitude
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Courtesy Michael Gaither
MARCH 16, 2022 | APTOS LIFE
By HUGH MCCORMICK
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For 15 years, Gaither and his award-winning “New Best Friends” ensemble have traveled throughout California, playing Americana originals and covers of well-known tunes from influences like Tom Petty and John Prine. With five CDs of original music in his bag, Gaither and his band craft songs about the nostalgia of smalltown life with keen observations of the human experience.
Wealth of Inspiration Gaither loves his guitar. It’s his baby. But he also plays the uke, harmonica, banjo and percussion. When Covid hit, he spent most of his time at home, like everyone else. Soon though, the stir-crazy musician played a socially distanced concert at El Vaquero Winery in Watsonville. The show went so well that it became a regular Friday night gig. Unlike most bands, Gaither and his New Best Friends played a lot during the pandemic. At first his gigs at Vaquero were solo affairs, but soon he was joined by his bass player. His primary singer, backup guitarist and drummer entered the fray next. “That became the five-piece New Best Friends ensemble,” Gaither says. “I love to play each gig a little differently. Two-piece. Three-piece. Full band. I like the flexibility.” The regular Friday gigs allowed Gaither and his friends to practice old tunes and covers, and to introduce new music like
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS Left to right: Gaither with
his New Best Friends bandmates Eliza James and Greg Abelar. “We’re the Elders Now” (which quickly became a crowd favorite). The band had a distinct advantage over other musicians. Workshopping new material in front of a live audience allowed them to innovate and get creative. Gaither takes the “write what you know” approach to music; many of his songs include local people and events. His song “See You on the Other Side,” inspired by the pandemic, won first place in the Great American Song Contest in the singer/songwriter category. “I have a solid library of songs about where I live,” Gaither says. “Anything really good or really bad there’s probably a story in it. And I got a lot of songs out of the craziness that was 2020.” To prep for this piece, Gaither and I talked at length on the phone and exchanged numerous text messages. Turns out, we’re not as cool (or young) as we thought.
A recent poll of 2,000 British youngsters between the age of 16-29 found that “cringe-worthy” emojis used by “old people” include the OK hand, red love heart, thumbs up and grimacing face. I can’t even count the number of times Gaither and I happily thumbed up each other during this past week. And after reading about this study I’ve come to seriously question my emoji game. At 39, I’m already feeling like an elder. SUNDAY, MARCH 27TH DISCRETION BREWING 2703 41ST AVE SUITE A, SOQUEL, CA Michael Gaither will play the Sunday afternoon series at Discretion Brewing in Soquel on March 27 from 3-5pm. He’ll play with his New Best Friends band at El Vaquero Winery in Corralitos on Sunday, April 10 from 2-5pm. For more information on shows, go to michaelgaither.com.
MARCH 16, 2022 | APTOS LIFE
A Serious Tune
Gaither is a storyteller through and through, blending his terrific melodies with wit and a huge helping of humor. Before his music and songwriting career really took off, he worked as a standup comedian. He even sold jokes to iconic latenight personality Jay Leno. There’s little humor in “We’re the Elders Now,” though. The song is serious, with an honest, endearing and heartfelt message. “My mom died at age 52, when I was 29. My dad passed away five years ago at age 92. It was hard. I still miss them both. I’m an only child so it was this realization, ‘oh, it’s just me now,’” Gaither says. For the song’s accompanying video, Gaither collected photos of people with their parents when they were kids and contrasted them with images from today—when they were older and parentless. “I got photos of friends, fans and family and the video accompanying the track really became a tribute to family. The song is bittersweet. Not to the point of being a downer, though,” Gaither says.
Courtesy Michael Gaither
t age 39, bordering on 40, I’ve started to exhibit some telltale signs of aging. My grunts when extricating my tired bod from my couch or bed have become more pronounced. I’m hearing songs I grew up with on the oldies and classic rock stations. I’m not on Tik Tok, Snapchat or “cool” new social media. And my bladder has become a sinister force of evil—an arch enemy that I battle each day. Local singer-songwriter extraordinaire Michael Gaither has admittedly begun to feel the bittersweet crush of old age himself. His new single “We’re the Elders Now” was inspired by his 92-year-old father’s passing a little more than five years ago. Gaither let the track—about the confusing and unsettling moment when you realize you are no longer young; that you are now part of an older and wiser generation that you’ve been taught to admire, look up to, and revere your entire life— sit for a while before revisiting it and releasing it earlier this year. The song is written for those, like Gaither, who aren’t so old, but find themselves parentless. “This is us now. We’re the new elders. Now we’re the old ones,” he says. Gaither is a longtime fixture in the local music scene. A student at Watsonville High School and then Cabrillo College and San Jose State University, the musically obsessed 58-year-old majored in “radio, TV and song.” He’s putting his degree to good use today, writing and producing music and working as a DJ for KPIG. “I was always a music nerd,” Gaither admits. “But KPIG shaped my tastes and outlook on music and song.”
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HISTORY CORNER
Aptos Cowboys
MARCH 16, 2022 | APTOS LIFE
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here did These land grants expanded the original our cowboy tradition in California cowboys come from the early days of the from? When the missions. Mexican families raised Spanish came huge herds of cattle tended to colonize the New World, they by their children and Native established colonies from Florida Americans. The cattle were raised up to Georgia in the east, for their leather hides and across Louisiana, and tallow. These were Texas, New Mexico, traded to Yankees who Arizona, and California sailed up the coast, and in the west. The soldiers were exchanged for and the missions that finished goods which were being established were not available locally. needed to supply their We don’t normally think own food, so the explorers of the Monterey Bay brought their horses and as cowboy country, but By John Hibble it was an important cattle with them, along Aptos History Museum part of our history. The with their herding and ranching expertise. The word “cowboy” is from original cowboys, or the Spanish caballero (horseman). The Spanish word more correctly vaqueros, had to be for horse is caballo, and is expert horsemen and ropers, herd pronounced ka-by-yo, which cattle, brand them, breed and break sounds a lot like cowboy. horses, and protect the herd from In 1793, Captain James thieves and wild carnivores such as Vancouver presented King grizzly bears and mountain lions. Kamehameha of Hawaii with When Mexico gained six cows and a bull so that there independence from Spain, the might be beef to eat when they land was taken away from the returned. The herd grew so large missions and parceled out into that the king brought vaqueros large ranchos that were granted to from California to manage the prominent Mexicans as a reward cattle. Hawaiian cowboys are for their service to the country. In called paniolo, a Hawaiian 1833, the first private ownership version of the word español. of land in our community was When California became part granted to Rafael Castro by the of the United States in 1850, our Mexican Governor Jose Figueroa, Hispanic citizens and culture did as a reward for Castro’s military not disappear. Don Vicente Castro, and political service. The Aptos one of Rafael’s sons, continued Rancho spanned from today’s to raise cattle and to provide his Seascape Boulevard to Borregas services to the local ranchers such Gulch near Cabrillo College, and as John T. Porter and Dr. August over two miles inland. Castro’s Liliencrantz, who owned the 1000sister was granted the Soquel acre Sand Rock Farm along today’s Rancho to the west, and their Freedom Boulevard. Vicente father was granted the San also owned a ranch in San Juan Andres Rancho to the east.
RANCHING FAMILY Above:
Rafael Castro expanded the cowboy tradition locally with his sprawling Aptos Rancho. Right: Rafael’s son Vicente Castro continued to raise cattle.
Batista. Often, cowboys would ride hundreds of miles to secure additional cattle stock or horses from other ranches in California. After the railroad was built, ranching gave way to the lumber industry, and Vicente headed south toward Santa Maria in 1900 to continue his trade, carrying on a tradition over 100 years old. The Aptos cowboy tradition continued at Sand Rock Farm for decades more and cattle ranching continues in the county to this day. As I was growing up, I watched plenty of cowboy movies. The shows were laced with a lot of colorful language. Maybe that’s where I first heard the word
“lingo,” which means the language and speech, especially the jargon or slang, of a particular group. Even though it was obvious that the occasional “adios” was a Mexican/Spanish word, it did not occur to me until later that most cowboy terms were anglicized versions of the original Spanish words, such as bandit, from bandido; barbecue, from barbacoa; boots, from botas, originated by Spanish vaqueros for protection of legs in saddles; rodeo, from rodear, to encircle the herd; spurs, from espuelas; and the uniquely cowboy exclamation “vamoose,” from vamos.
WORD FROM A FRIEND
Updates from the Board
T
he Board of Supervisors have recently approved numerous funding, policy and procedural actions that will improve broadband access, the way the public interacts with the planning and public works process and even how county employees can engage in post-employment lobbying. While not comprehensive, here are three recent policies and actions the Board took that might be of interest.
Broadband Expansion
By Zach Friend Santa Cruz County Supervisor
Submissions were evaluated under the criteria of network reliability, cost effectiveness, capability to meet project goals and schedule, service to the largest number of constituents, service speed, experience, funding capabilities and experience in partnering with local governments, as well as ability to serve lowerincome households. Cruzio Internet was awarded the grant for this first phase of broadband expansion in the county. The implementation of the proposed design will take approximately 11 months to complete, and will involve the installation of 10 points of presence (POP). This project will serve 4,000 homes across all five Supervisor Districts through the Equal Access Santa Cruz program, and provide needed internet resources to affordable housing projects and school neighborhoods. Selected sites should be announced soon. Additional funding for broadband expansion will be available through state and federal grants in the coming months. The County is developing a framework for the allocation of all future broadband funding with a focus on continued expansion of internet service to underserved and unserved areas across the County.
Integration of Public Works and Planning Departments In an effort to improve customer service and streamline project management, the Board of Supervisors directed that the departments of Public Works and Planning integrate into a single department. A primary result of ➝9 the proposed integration
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Last year, I brought an item to the Board of Supervisors to use $500,000 of our recovery funding toward broadband expansion. The pandemic highlighted the critical need for access to affordable, high-speed internet. For students participating in remote learning, seniors accessing tele-health programs and workers attempting to work remotely, high-speed internet is an essential resource. Yet, many households in our community, and throughout the state, either have limited bandwidth to meet their needs or are priced out of options. The unincorporated area of Santa Cruz County contains numerous small areas that have no internet service or very slow internet service. The Board sought proposals from local and national providers with the intention of finding one of more partners to help provide broadband internet service in the unserved / underserved areas. Underserved areas are defined as places where at least 80% of the population has access to internet speeds under 100 Mbps download / 20 Mbps upload.
Make Y o 2021 IR ur Contrib A ut Throug ion April 1 h 5!
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LOCAL SCENE
Tarmo Hannula
LIBRARY CHECKS OUT Over the past couple of weeks, public safety personnel from fire agencies throughout Santa Cruz County have used the soon-to-be-demolished Aptos Library for various training exercises. Funded by the 2016 voter-approved Measure S, the new, 12,400-square-foot, $14 million Aptos Library will be built by Bogard Construction, with architectural services by Anderson Brulé Architects.
Fashion with a Sip of Tea
Officer Carlos Palacios. Admission is $10 for chamber members or $15 general.
The Aptos Chamber of Commerce will present High Time for Tea and Fashion on March 27 from 11:30am to 2pm at the Seascape Golf Club, 610 Clubhouse Drive. The fashion show will feature the latest spring trends from local stores.
To RSVP, visit bit.ly/3t3NpR5.
MARCH 16, 2022 | APTOS LIFE
Admission is $65 per person, and vendors and sponsors are being sought. For information, visit aptoschamber.com/event/ its-high-time-for-tea-fashion.
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Officials to Talk Watsonville Hospital The Aptos Chamber of Commerce will host a virtual lunch meeting on April 1 from noon to 1pm. The meeting will feature an update on Watsonville Community Hospital, featuring talks by Senator John Laird, Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project Board Chair and CEO Mimi Hall, and County Administrative
Volunteers needed for Civil Grand Jury The Superior Court of Santa Cruz County is seeking volunteers to become members of the Civil Grand Jury. The 19 members of the Civil Grand Jury are an independent body empowered to investigate the operations of city and county governments as well as other tax-supported agencies and special districts. They also respond to citizen complaints about government issues. Candidates for the grand jury must be United States citizens, at least 18 years of age, have a working knowledge of the English language, and have resided in the county for at least one year. All qualified citizens interested in serving on the 2022-2023 Civil Grand Jury are invited
to apply to the Superior Court for consideration. There will be informational meetings on April 19 at noon and April 21 at 5pm that will provide information about becoming a member of the grand jury. These meetings will be conducted by Zoom and the link will be posted to the court’s website. For applications and information, visit santacruzcourt. org or visit either the Santa Cruz or Watsonville courthouses to pick up an application. All applications must be received by 3pm on April 29. For questions, contact the Superior Court Jury Commissioner’s Office by email at jury.information@ santacruzcourt.org.
Water commission seeks drought group members The Santa Cruz County Water Advisory Commission is establishing a new Drought Response Working Group
to help develop a drought response plan for small water systems and domestic wells within Santa Cruz County. The commission is seeking two at-large representatives for the nine-member Working Group, including an at-large environmental community representative and an at-large public representative, with priority for the latter given to well owners in areas not covered by a groundwater sustainability agency. Representatives will be expected to commit to 15-20 hours of meetings, to be held between late April through October. Other representatives include six public agency representatives and an environmental justice/ affordability representative. The deadline to apply is March 25. For an application, visit bit.ly/3pYLGL0.
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By integrating the two departments, the community will have a faster and more coordinated response to their permit needs.
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Regulating PostEmployment Lobbying by County Employees Many federal, state, and local government agencies have adopted formal policies regulating lobbying by former officials, either elected or appointed,
and former employees. Often referred to as “revolving door” policies, these ordinances recognize that recently departed officials and staff possess unique knowledge and relationships that are unavailable to the public, which can then be used to exert improper influence over decisions affecting the public’s interests. I brought forward an item (that was approved) that would restrict county employees, for one year, from being paid to communicate/ lobby with their former employer in an attempt to influence certain actions or proceedings. The focus of this ordinance is simply to ensure that when public employees have a role in creating a regulatory structure, are privy to confidential information, relationships or any other access points that the greater public doesn’t have, that the public be assured that those access points aren’t being used for personal gain and that the public’s interest is always paramount. Adoption of the ordinance put Santa Cruz County in line with many other public agencies across the state and country with similar restrictions in place and increases transparency and trust with the community. As always, I appreciate any feedback you may have on this (or any other County issue). I’m maintaining regular updates on social media at www.facebook. com/supervisorfriend, and you can always call me at 454-2200.
Soren E. Croxall, CFA, CFP Helping you plan today so you can have confidence for tomorrow
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will be the opening of a Unified Permitting Center, focused on customer service and more efficient land use permitting. If you’ve ever needed a building permit, then you are aware that the process often requires review from multiple departments. Most planning documents consider transportation, sanitation and other infrastructure provided by Public Works. Public Works projects rely on Planning sign off for consistency with environmental and land-use policies. By integrating the two departments, the community will have a faster and more coordinated response to their permit and customer-service needs. The Unified Permit Center (UPC) is a primary benefit of the proposed integration. The UPC provides one location for applicants and their design teams to go for local requirements, and ensures applicants have clear expectations for the review process. With cross-trained staff from various agencies and divisions co-located with building permit technicians, this integration will streamline the overall permit process.
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FINANCIAL ADVICE
RMDs: Tricky but Critical
MARCH 16, 2022 | APTOS LIFE
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one-time provision for your ost people first RMD only. Let’s look at the have a general example of Bob, who turns 72 in understanding 2022. Bob could opt to take his that the money applicable first RMD in calendar they have been year 2022, or he could keeping tax deferred in retirement accounts wait and opt to take his is going to eventually first RMD by April 1 of be subject to certain the year following the withdrawal requirements, year he reaches 72 (in and applicable taxes this case it would be by owed will need to be April 1, 2023). Again, paid at that time. What this is a one-time deferral causes a lot of confusion for your very first RMD is when withdrawals only. However, there is need to start and how a caveat to waiting until to calculate them. Soren E. Croxall April 1st of the following Required Minimum year. Bob would need Financial Advice Distributions (RMDs) to take 2 RMDs in refer to the minimum 2023—one by the April amount that a retirement account 1st deadline for the RMD that owner must begin withdrawing he was subject to in 2022, and from their various retirement the second by Dec. 31, 2023, for accounts at a certain age in order the RMD that he is subject to in to satisfy IRS requirements. The 2023. The amounts required to rules surrounding RMDs can be be withdrawn will be different as complex and have changed over the well for the RMD due in April and last few years. Let’s take a closer RMD due in December. Each year look at a few of the updates and thereafter, the deadline for Bob changes that have taken place since to withdraw his RMD annually the passage of the SECURE Act at is Dec. 31. The penalty for not the end of 2019. withdrawing your RMD is steep, at 50% of whatever amount wasn’t withdrawn but should have been. When Do RMDs If you are still working at age Generally Start? 72, you may be able to defer taking an RMD from the retirement Prior to the passage of the plan in which you are an active SECURE Act, RMDs were participant in until the year generally required to begin when you retire (or are terminated). you reached age 70.5 (I’m still I emphasize may because there trying to figure out why they are a few considerations here. thought using a half age was a One is that it must be a qualified good idea). With the passage employer sponsored plan (i.e. of the SECURE Act, those who 401k, 403b, or other defined turned age 70 on July 1, 2019 contribution plans, but not or later could defer taking their IRAs). Secondly, you must be an first RMD to age 72 (those who active participant in the qualified turned 70 before July 1, 2019 company plan, and the plan must still needed to use the old rules allow for it. Thirdly, you cannot of starting RMDs at age 70.5). own more than 5% of the business. While your first RMD generally Let’s look at another example will come due in the year you turn 72, the IRS allows a special with Bob. Bob is turning age 72
in 2022, but he is still working for ABC, Inc. and participates in their 401k plan. He is not an owner of the company. Bob also does freelance work on the side and contributes to a SEP IRA based on the income he generates from his freelance work. Lastly, Bob also has an old 401k from when he worked for XYZ Company years ago, but is no longer an active participant in the plan since he no longer works for XYZ Company. Bob would need to begin taking RMDs from his SEP IRA and old 401k from XYZ Company with no exceptions in 2022 (or opting to wait until April 1, 2023 under the one-time first RMD provision). Since he is still an active employee with ABC, Inc. and not an owner, Bob may be able to defer needing to take RMDs from the ABC, Inc. 401k plan until the year he retires (or terminates his employment with ABC) under the “still working” exception. He would need to check with his HR Department or his 401k plan sponsor to see if he qualifies. As you can see, there are a lot of nuances as to when RMDs must begin, depending on your situation. If you are unsure, it's best to discuss with a qualified professional as the penalty for mistakes is very steep.
How to Calculate Your RMD Calculating your RMD from regular retirement plans and accounts (not inherited accounts, which we aren’t going to get into in this article, or Roth IRAs, which generally aren’t subject to RMDs) is pretty cut and dry. You divide the Dec. 31 retirement account value for the prior year by an age factor based on the age you will be at the end of the current year. You may be asking,
“What is an age factor?” The IRS has tables that we utilize when calculating distributions from retirement accounts and inherited accounts have a corresponding factor for each age. An important update for 2022 is that the IRS has updated the tables (Uniform, Single Life, and Joint Life) to address the fact that people are living longer. The new age factors for 2022 result in smaller distribution requirements than under the previous tables that were in effect until the end of last year. This will allow people to keep more of their account tax deferred for longer, and also help potentially lower their overall tax burden. Keep in mind that while it’s nice to know the general process of how to calculate RMDs, it's probably prudent to work with a qualified professional to help you avoid costly mistakes. You can also ask the custodian of your account to calculate your RMD each year, as well as help you distribute the withdrawal. While the rules can seem confusing at times, the key thing to remember is that in general you must begin taking some money from most of your tax deferred retirement accounts at age 72. You may be able take money earlier (generally after age 59.5 with no penalty), but you generally must start by age 72. 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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