Aptos Times: May 15, 2023

By Todd Marco

Cover Splashy Mural for Rio Del Mar: New Look from Taylor Rheinhold & Team, By Todd Marco

Community News

5 Repass & Rogers Win Friends of Ag Award: Kelly Garcia Franklin of Mar Vista Wins Poster Contest

8 Comment by June 23 on Click to Cancel Rule

9 Seniors Earn Seal of Biliteracy

10 Free Feasibility Study for Accessory Dwellings • Your Two Cents on Where to Build Housing

11 Congressional Art Competition Winners

12 Seacliff Chronicles

13 CHP: New K-9 on Duty

14 World’s Shortest Parade: Applications To Participate Available Now

15 44th Annual Musical ‘Ramayana!’

16 Bowl raises $9,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters • Free Legal Aid After Epic Storm

19 Meet Ronnie Platt, New Mar Vista Principal

24 Debt Ceiling Crisis Could Result In ‘Major Recession’: Cal Poly Economics Professor Says Even Threat of Defaulting Can Rattle the Economy • Monterey County Update on Unpermitted Housing • Timeline to Reopen Pajaro Middle School

27 Siena House Welcomes New Leaders • Killer Whales!

31 Thanks to Donors • Jail Electronics Upgrade to Begin

Local Sports

6 Aptos Golf: League Champions!, By Paul Zech

14 SCCAL Boys Volleyball All-League

Letters to the Editor

7 Local Artists Thank Aptos Times for Preview of the “A Spark of Art” Show • Highway 1 Projects • Local Leaders Speak Out Against Bigots

National News

9 Federal Aviation Administration: Air Taxis Are in Our Future

Monthly Horoscope • Page 26 – Mercury Direct, Mother’s Day, Gemini Sun & Pentecost, By Risa D’Angeles

Community Calendar • Arts & Entertainment – Pages 28, 29

Featured Columnists

18 Rain Brings Bountiful Bloom, By Tony Tomeo

20 Almost Losing Our Volkswagen Van: Another Miracle, By Barry and Joyce Vissell

22 Libraries: Something For Everyone A Click Away, By Judie Block

23 Let’s Consider a Public Bank, By Steve Pleich

23 Pricing the Public Out of Public Records, By Ginny LaRoe, Advocacy Director, First Amendment Coalition

25 No Balloons, Teacher Salaries, Pajaro Water, Unexcused Absences, Q&A With Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, Superintendent, Pajaro Valley Unified School District

30 County Proposed Budget Awaits $100 Million from Feds, By Zach Friend, Supervisor, Second District

SCCAS Featured Pet • Page 31 – Pepsi and His Guinea Pig Friends!

Patrice Edwards editor

Jondi Gumz

contributing writers

Todd Marco, Paul Zech, Risa D’Angeles, Tony Tomeo, Barry and Joyce Vissell, Steve Pleich, Ginny LaRoe, Michelle Rodriguez, Judie Block, Zach Friend

layout

Michael Oppenheimer graphic artists

Michael Oppenheimer

production coordinator

Camisa Composti

media consultants

Teri Huckobey, Brooke Valentine office coordinator

Cathe Race distribution

Bill Pooley, Taylor Brougham

“Rio Del Mar Mural” from page 1

Story of the Mural

Aptos-based nonprofit Nisene Rio Gateway (NRG) spearheaded the project and successfully advocated for the Parklet to be opened for public access.

For the mural improvement, NRG partnered with local nonprofit County Park Friends as fiscal sponsor and raised over $13,000 from generous donors to commission Taylor and team.

The mural wall brightens up a Parklet area owned by County Parks, which includes multiple picnic tables and is envisioned to have additional park-like amenities, including bike racks, landscaping, and a seasonal food truck, even if just on an interim basis.

An additional fundraising effort has also been launched to cover added costs incurred due to storm delays and material increases.

Story of the Place

Acentury ago, Rio Flats was a marshy estuary where Aptos Creek meandered into the Monterey Bay, but the ecological value of the habitat was no match for the force of development that transformed the area in the 1920s.

This was, remember, a time when the redwood forests of Aptos had just been clear-cut and earnest conservation efforts were in their infancy.

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The Liederbach building, more recently known as the SeaBreeze Tavern, was constructed in 1928 and ultimately demolished in 2021. The historic structure was beloved by some nostalgic community members but was a dilapidated eyesore to most. Its removal greatly expanded sightlines to the mural wall, which then became the first fundraising project of the newly formed Nisene Rio Gateway.

Aptos Creek, flowing through The Forest of Nisene Marks to the Rio Del Mar Beach, has always been the lifeblood of Aptos.

Churchill & Beers

The new mural showcases the interconnected woodland, riparian, & coastal ecosystems, highlighting the importance of conservation & stewardship. NRG is also working with local officials in advocacy of safety improvements for pedestrians & cyclists along the course of Aptos Creek from redwoods to sea.

Story of the Future

Comeenjoy the new patio area and support the great local businesses along the esplanade.

As you’re admiring the new mural, take some time to contemplate & discuss the elements & themes underpinning the artwork. If you look closely, you might even spot an homage to our beloved pier. n •••

Editor’s note: The future of the parklet at 105 Esplanade (APN 042-151-31) will be discussed by the Santa Cruz County Planning Commission at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, May 24, in the supervisors’ chambers, 701 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. The staff report will be available one week before.

•••

Cover Photo Credit: Andrew Pastor

Michael Oppenheimer, Camisa Composti

Michael Oppenheimer website

photography

Photo Credit: Andrew Pastor Taylor Reinhold at work.

Repass & Rodgers Win Friends of Ag Award Kelly Garcia Franklin of Mar Vista Wins Poster Contest

At the National Agriculture Day spring luncheon April 26 at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, the 2023 Al Smith Friend of Agriculture award was presented to Randy Repass and Sally-Christine Rodgers for their strong support of local agriculture and their tireless volunteerism.

Kelly Garcia Franklin, 5th Grade, Mar Vista Elementary School, Aptos, won the poster contest with a pair of hands holding strawberries. Luke Zamora, 12th Grade, Pajaro Valley High School, Watsonville, won the poetry contest with “Grown in Santa Cruz County.”

The annual luncheon, coordinated by the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau and Agri-Culture, included presentation of scholarships.

Repass and Rodgers are supporters of the Agricultural History Project, the Wild Farm Alliance, and Agri-Culture, Inc., where Randy is on the board of directors.

They have been longtime members and supporters of the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau. During the pandemic, they provided significant funding for the Farm Bureaus farmworker vaccination program and emergency farmworker housing.

They sponsored the Albert and Alzora Snyder Restoration Barn at the County Fairgrounds, which served as a catalyst for the Agricultural History Project complex. And

they sponsored the Buy Fresh Buy Local Campaign of the Community Alliance of Family Farmers.

They are strong supporters of conserving agricultural land in the Pajaro Valley while ensuring that the City of Watsonville can meet its needs. Both of them were significant supporters of Measure Q, which extended the Urban Limit Line in Watsonville for another 20 years.

In the early 2000s,they purchased Tynan Ranch, where Dick Peixoto started farming as a teenager, on Lakeview Road and protected this farmland from development in perpetuity by donating a conservation easement to the Land Trust of Santa Cruz County. Tynan Ranch is now farmed by Lakeside Organic Gardens, owned by Dick Peixoto.

Rogers recently organized Trash Talkers, a task force focused on combatting trash, illegal dumping and organizing cleanups resulting from encampments in Santa Cruz County.

page 8

“Ag Awards”

Kelly Garcia Franklin of Mar Vista Elementary and her winning poster.

Randy Repass (left) accepts Al Smith Friend of Agriculture Award.

Aptos Golf: League Champions!

By Paul Zech

The 1st big thank you from our entire team, goes to Seascape Golf Club, its ownership group, golf staff, greens keepers & maintenance staff and all the other wonderful staff members working there and fully supporting the school golf programs for both boys & girls teams.

The Aptos High School Mariners Golf program has been #1 so many times over the last several decades, the program has lost track.

Like every year, our junior varsity & assistant Coaches, Brad King, Jesse Cox, Dominic DeLuca & Shane Garvey have the job and pleasure of grooming the future varsity players for the lucky head coach Paul Zech. Those coaches prepare and deliver to the head coach young men who have been worked with daily to help them get the most out of the golf program.

The boys are all such polite and courteous gentlemen everywhere we go, representing both the school and Aptos community, they represent all very well.

As a coach, my biggest challenge again this year is having these boys challenge me

to long drive competition. Of the 16 boys on our “young” team this year, 6 of them hit a ball 300-340 yards, me 275-285 on a good day.

The joke is; If you can out-drive Coach Zech, you will play Varsity, need I say more.

Coaching these young men is very fulfilling.

As a busy local residential & commercial Realtor, I look forward to spending my Monday through Thursday afternoons during season, and watching the varsity players get in their golf groove, work out the kinks and prepare for competition.

Each individual has his own unique way of preparing, refining and competing and guess what? It’s the perfect storm every year as Aptos continues to dominate high school boys golf in the Santa Cruz County Athletic League.

My final words this year are: “Whew, I only grew a few more gray hairs and the good news is, I have the same winning group of boys back next year as seniors & juniors.” n

The Retired Public Employees' Association of California

(RPEA) works to protect the pensions and health bene ts of all members of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS). With our pension and health bene ts dependent upon politics and the economy, we need to get our stories of public service out. For over 50 years the Surf City - Santa Cruz Chapter has been watching out for the interests of our local retirees.

Members are eligible for a range of bene ts including dental and vision insurance, pet insurance plans, and discounts at many venues. We also have a monthly newsletter.

The next lunch meeting will be June 13, 2023.

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First Team All League

Ben Nowark, Aptos

Shawn Rochelle, Aptos

Ian Holbert, Harbor

Colton Duerson, Scotts Valley

James Dahlen, San Lorenzo Valley

Luke English, Soquel •••

Second Team All League

Luke Garvey, Aptos

Andrew Cox, Aptos

Tyler Grosdidier, Aptos

Jason Tucker, Harbor

Nash Campbell, Harbor

Isaiah Ruckman, Santa Cruz •••

Honorable Mention Colby Culbertson and Mason Bloom, Aptos; Makai Breiter and Kaito Levy, Harbor; Ryan Niizawa and Cole Johnson, Soquel; Carter Ziep and Will Jackson, Scotts Valley; Kennan Buntz and Connor Scarborough, San Lorenzo Valley; Cliff Chestnut and Roman Minasian, Santa Cruz.

•••

Coach of the Year: Paul Zech, Aptos High League champions: Aptos, 10-0 League MVP: Matthew Munro, Harbor Individual league champion: Matthew Munro, Harbor, 77 at Delaveaga

Aptos High Golf Team at Seascape Golf Club. BACK ROW (from left): Head Coach Paul Zech, Justin Rifkind, junior, Ben Nowark , sophomore, Luke Garvey, junior., Shawn Roschelle, junior, Tyler Grosdidier, junior, Andrew Cox, junior, JV Coach Jesse Cox, and JV Coach Brad King. FRONT ROW (from left): Colby Culbertson, sophomore, Mason Ronzano, sophomore, Charlie Cox, freshman, Mason Bloom, sophomore, Zachery Giuffre, sophomore, William Byers, sophomore, Leland Blankenship, sophomore, William Bartch, sophomore, Francisco Smith, sophomore, and Finley Patterson, freshman. Missing: Alistair Perkins

Aptos High Golf Team celebrates their League champion banner after the SCCAL League championship match May 2 at Delaveaga. From left: Dominic DeLuca, assistant JV coach, Shawn Rochelle, junior, Ben Nowark , sophomore, Luke Garvey, junior, Andrew Cox, junior, Tyler Grosdidier, junior, Colby Culbertson, sophomore, and Coach Paul Zech.

Local Artists Thank Aptos Times for Preview of the “A Spark of Art” Show

•••

Thisis Ann Bitonti from ‘A Spark of Art’ show that you were kind enough to put in your paper.

Many people came to show because they saw it in the Aptos and Capitola Times.

It made the event so much more successful and we raised $500 for the Native Animal Rescue center.

Thanks again.

•••

— Ann Bitonti

Thanks for writing and publishing the article about our Encaustic Art Show last weekend.

Highway 1 Projects

Your May 1 issue featured your article “Highway 1 Groundbreaking” in which you reported that ”transportation leaders broke ground on a $100 million project they believe will break the logjam” of the “100,000 of us who can get caught in the commuter traffic jam to and from Watsonville to Santa Cruz in the morning” and the return South in the afternoon.

You wrote that our leaders provided 3 projects: (1) building auxiliary lanes and allowing Metro buses to bypass traffic on the shoulder; (2) building crossings over Highway #1 for people on foot and bike; and (3) building a trail alongside the Santa Cruz branch trail line.

I am bamboozled by this news. Will auxiliary lanes be used only by the Metro buses?

What’s an auxiliary lane? Does that mean we will have 3 lanes rather than 2 in both directions?

Isn’t the evidence that if you add capacity to a highway that will only increase traffic, as was learned in the case of the beltway around Washington, DC?

How on earth will the crossings over Highway #1 reduce our traffic jams? How much will building a trail alongside the SC branch rail line reduce traffic jams?

The elephant in our room is that we in the public do not really understand why traffic gets jammed up on Highway #1 in the first place.

Most highways can handle a great deal of rushing traffic. Do the experts explain the slowdown by cars entering or leaving the highway?

I don’t see much of the traffic being slowed down by that, since you can leave and enter the highway at close to 55 mph without slowing down other cars, though of course as you enter, or

It was a great success with several visitors mentioning your article specifically! We all made plenty of sales and we raised $500 in donations to Native Animal Rescue.

Again, thank you for supporting local artists in your publication.

— Laura Martin, Encaustic Artist

•••

Thank you so much for the feature article about our sale and fund raiser that appeared in the Aptos Times.

Several people mentioned that they had read the article and it had piqued their interest enough to come over to see our art.

Most importantly, we raised over $500 dollars for the Native Animal Rescue! Donations are especially important in spring as this is their baby rearing season.

see cars entering, you have to slow down or speed up to avoid collisions.

Yet people seem to take such care without much effect on the traffic as a whole.

So why do we have these traffic jams where our speed has to reduce from 55 or 65 to10 or 20mph?

And why we are spending $100 million(!) on these “solutions” that don’t seem all that effective? And what other “improvements” have been considered?

Yet don’t get me wrong! Anything we can do that will actually reduce or eliminate these big traffic jams would be deeply appreciated by all of us who use Rt #1 — everyone from Watsonville to Aptos to Soquel to Santa Cruz!

— Jamie Hollomon, JD, LMFT, Aptos citizen

•••

Local Leaders Speak Out Against Bigots

There is no room at UC Santa Cruz, in the City of Santa Cruz or amongst our neighbors for the expressions of hate that have occurred in the last two weeks.

At UCSC, a group of students reportedly gathered to celebrate Adolf Hitler’s birthday by singing happy birthday and eating cake decorated with revolting symbols of terror.

A second outrage took place in downtown Santa Cruz where someone found an anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQIA+ flyer on their car’s windshield. The flyer included despicable and degrading claims about Jewish people and LGBTQIA+ people.

As leaders from different backgrounds and traditions, we are united in our dedication to building a community that celebrates differences.

We call upon all members of the community to stand up and say with one voice: We will not tolerate these violent voices of hatred toward not just the Jewish and LGBTQIA communities

Again, your help with this was greatly appreciated!

— Nancy Niles, ceramic

•••

artist

Ijust wanted you to know how much we all appreciated your feature in the Aptos Times on our art show — A Spark of Art!

As a first time exhibitor, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this event but we had great attendance, and many came in as a result of your article.

The event was a big success for all of us. Since this was my very first show, I was absolutely thrilled to sell 8 pieces!

We were also able to raise over $500 for Native Animal Rescue with the sale of our mini-encaustic pieces.

but also towards those who pray or look differently.

The malicious acts are an effort to make intolerance normal. In doing so they are attempting to plant the seeds of terror and physical violence in our neighborhoods. We stand for normalizing diversity, inclusion, and mutual respect; together we are stronger.

— Rev. Beverly Brook • Keisha Browder, CEO United Way • Dr. Justin Cummings, Santa Cruz County Supervisor •

And, it was good to see that, with our demos, we educated so many of our attendees on the history and process of encaustic art.

It was a pleasure meeting you in the studio and a treat to enjoy the fruits of your labor!! Thanks again for your great work in getting the word out for us!

•••

— Dawn McGinty

We appreciate the article that you ran about our show this coming weekend, May 6 & 7.

It was so well written and crafted. I’m sure that with the help of your article, we will be very successful.

— Terry Dowell, Laura Martin, Dawn McGinty, Nancy Niles, Ann Bitonti

Ray Cancino, CEO, Community Bridges • Andrew Goldenkranz, Chair, Santa Cruz County Democratic Party • Elaine Johnson, Chair, Santa Cruz NAACP • Fred Keeley, Mayor of Santa Cruz • Rev. James R. Lapp, St. Stephens Lutheran Church • Barbara Meister, Holy Cross Catholic Church • Deacon Randy Pozos, Our Lady Star of the Sea Church, Santa Cruz • Dr. Faris Sabbah, Superintendent, Santa Cruz County Office of Education • Cathy Sarto, Peace United Church • Adam Spickler, Cabrillo College Trustee

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Comment by June 23 on Click to Cancel Rule

On March 23, the Federal Trade Commission proposed a “click to cancel” provision requiring sellers to make it as easy for consumers to cancel their enrollment as it was to sign up.

That is just one of several significant updates the Commission is proposing to its rules regarding subscriptions and recurring payments.

The new click to cancel provision, along with other proposals, would go a long way to rescuing consumers from seemingly never-ending struggles to cancel unwanted subscription payment plans for everything from cosmetics to newspapers to gym memberships.

The notice was published April 24 in the Federal Register. Consumers can submit comments online at www.regulations.gov

by June 23. Put Negative Option Rule; Project No. P064202 in the subject line.

“Some businesses too often trick consumers into paying for subscriptions they no longer want or didn’t sign up for in the first place,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The proposed rule would require

“Ag Awards” from page 5 Trash Talkers first convened in January of 2022, and have been formally endorsed by the County of Santa Cruz.

The award was announced and presented by Richard and Mary Travis, who received the award in 2022. This award is named after Al Smith who was the founder of Orchard Supply Hardware and donated 3,000 acres (Swanton Pacific Ranch) on the north coast to Cal Poly. The ranch has row crops, timber and a one-third-scale railroad, which was Al’s hobby. The award is on a piece of redwood with a train depicted on it. It is presented annually to an individual, business or organization not involved in production agriculture but has done much for the industry.

Student Winners

In the poster contest, second place went to Elijah Choy, 3rd Grade Delaveaga Elementary, and third place to: Jason Beltran, 5th Grade, Ann Soldo Elementary.

Honorable mention went to: Iliya Dobreu, 5th Grade Vine Hill Elementary; Cada Pouw, 3rd Grade Delaveaga Elementary; Rose Grace Eirich, 5th Grade Santa Cruz Montessori School, Aptos; Hadley Renezes, 5th Grade Mountain Elementary Soquel; Oliver Nakazawa Hewitt, 5th Grade, Delaveaga Elementary; Ayla Urquhart, 4th Grade Mountain Elementary; Carmen Lopez Zarco, 6th Grade, Lakeview Middle School.

that companies make it as easy to cancel a subscription as it is to sign up for one. The proposal would save consumers time and money, and businesses that continued to use subscription tricks and traps would be subject to stiff penalties.”

The notice of proposed rulemaking is part of the FTC’s ongoing review of its 1973 Negative Option Rule, which the agency uses to combat unfair or deceptive practices related to subscriptions, memberships, and other recurring-payment programs.

These programs are widespread in the marketplace and can provide substantial benefits to both consumers and businesses. But they can become problematic when marketers fail to make adequate disclosures, bill consumers without their consent, or make cancellation either difficult or impossible—such as by requiring customers to cancel in person or keeping them stuck on hold waiting to talk to customer service. Each year, the FTC receives thousands of consumer complaints about such practices.

The current patchwork of laws and regulations available to the FTC do not provide consumers and industry with a

consistent legal framework. Accordingly, the proposal would make several specific changes, including implementing:

• A simple cancellation mechanism: If consumers are unable to easily leave any program when they want to, the negative option feature becomes nothing more than a way to continue charging them for products they no longer want. To address this issue, the proposed rule would require businesses to make it at least as easy to cancel a subscription as it was to start it. For example, if you can sign up online, you must be able to cancel on the same website, in the same number of steps.

• New requirements before making additional offers: The proposed rule would allow sellers to pitch additional offers or modifications when a consumer tries to cancel their enrollment. But before making such pitches, sellers must first ask consumers whether they want to hear them. In other words, a seller must take “no” for an answer and upon hearing “no” must immediately implement the cancellation process.

• New requirements regarding reminders and confirmations: The proposed rule would require sellers to provide an annual reminder to consumers enrolled in negative option programs involving anything other than physical goods, before they are automatically renewed.

The Commission vote approving publication of the notice of proposed rulemaking was 3-1, with Commissioner Christine S. Wilson voting no. Chair Khan issued a separate statement, in which she was joined by Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya.

Commissioner Wilson issued a dissenting statement saying the proposed rule was too broad and would apply to any marketing claims that were untrue.

The FTC has developed a fact sheet at https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ ftc_gov/pdf/NegOptions-1page.pdf summarizing the proposed changes to the Negative Option Rule.

The primary staffer on this matter is Hampton Newsome in the FTC’s Enforcement Division n

$2,000. Priscilla plans to attend Master’s University in the fall and will major in agribusiness in hopes of pursuing a career as a sustainable farm/orchard owner. She has been a FFA member throughout high school, and served on its Ag Public Relations Committee from 2021-2023.

Madison Kelley, a junior at Modesto Junior College, will receive $3,000 from the Jimmie Cox Memorial Scholarship Fund and support from American AgCredit. The scholarship is in memory of Jimmie Cox, who owned C & N Tractors.

In the poetry contest, 2nd Place went to: Vania Aldrete, 12th Grade “National Agriculture Day” Pajaro Valley High School; 3rd Place: Chloe Roberts, 7th Grade “Santa Cruz County” Twin Lakes Christian School, Aptos.

Honorable mentions went to: Adrian Andres Ayala-Ortiz, 12th Grade, “Cultivating Love,” Pajaro Valley High School; Jade Mazariegos-Munoz, 12th Grade, “Everyone’s Treasure,” Pajaro Valley High School; Rocco DeBernardo, 7th Grade, “The Beauty of the Crops of Santa Cruz,”

Twin Lakes Christian School, Aptos; Yareli Zamora-Castillo, 12th Grade, “Our Crops,” Pajaro Valley High School;

Isla Hardy, 7th Grade, “Grown in Santa Cruz County: A Walk Through the Farm,” Twin Lakes Christian School, Aptos.

This year, the Agri-Culture organization streamlined its scholarship program

so students could apply for multiple scholarships if they met the qualifications for each one. The winners were: Diego Ramirez, Priscilla Noh, and Madison Kelley.

Diego Ramirez, a senior at St. Francis High School, plans to attend Cal Pol San Luis Obispo in the fall, where he will major in agriculture science and then pursue a career as a notanist. Diego is an athlete who played football, track and field and cross country. He has served as class secretary since his junior year.

He was selected to receive $1,000 from the Jimmie Cox Memorial Scholarship, awarded the $1,000 JJ Crosetti, Jr. Memorial Scholarship, and the inaugural $1,000 Frank Prevedelli Memorial Scholarship.

Priscilla Noh, Watsonville High, Laura Brown Memorial Scholarship,

Madison was unable to attend due to finals. She is majoring in animal science and is transferring to Texas Tech in the fall. She hopes to pursue a career as an agriculture lawyer.

Farm Bureau President Dennis Webb was emcee for the event, for which 200 tickets were sold.

Sarah Newkirk, executive director, Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, spoke on “Conserving Working Lands in the Era of Climate Change.”

Notables in attendance include Santa Cruz County supervisors Felipe Hernandez and Bruce McPherson; Watsonville Mayor Eduardo Montesino; Scotts Valley Mayor, Jack Dilles; PVUSD Superintendent Dr. Michelle Rodriguez; Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County CEO Susan True; and Shadowbrook Restaurant owner Ted Burke. n

About 200 tickets were sold for the National Ag Day spring lunch at the county fairgrounds.

Seniors Earn Seal of Biliteracy

On May 4, Pajaro Valley Unified School District honored 104 seniors who have earned their Seal of Biliteracy, including 42 at Aptos High.

These graduating students met their second language proficiency requirements.

Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, Superintendent of Schools, along with the school board president, were on hand to congratulate each student.

The Aptos High seniors recognized are:

Emily Abundis, Juana Anaya Campos, Abril Becerra-Cornejo, Leslie Berumen-Mendoza, Isabella Blevins, Colette Chankai, Eric Choy, Misael Cruz-Hallett, Evelyn Fernandez-Rocha, Mariana Franca Pires, Samantha French, Christopher Garcia, Adrian Garcia-Garcia, Elizabeth Garcia-Velazquez, Cassandra Gaspar-Gonzalez, Angelica Gil-Perez, Camila Hennessey, Joana Herrera-Jarquin, Gabriella Herrera-Mendoza, Abelina Martinez, Jasmine Medina, Giselle Mendoza, Patrick Morrissey, Samantha Munoz, Anna Nacht, Natali Parra, Yesenia PeciadoAngiano, Nadia Ramirez-Cerrillos, Hannia Reyes-Alcaraz, Meredith Robbins,

Jennifer Santiago, Ivan Solorio-Martinez, Sydnee Stephanson, Ramon ToresBarboza, Ryan Toselllo, Julian Velasquez-Vega, Kai Walsh, Brook Willoughby, Piper Woo, Angelica ZacariasMartinez, Giselle Zamudio-Vega, and Autumn Zaretsky

Many students received a seal for being bilingual in Spanish; Arabic and American Sign Language are the second and third most popular languages at PVUSD.

At Aptos High, Zaretsky was recognized for American Sign Language; all the other seniors were recognized for Spanish.

Recipients will receive a special seal on their high school diploma and this information is also included in the student’s school transcript. The California Department of Education provides a medallion to each recipient that will be worn at graduation.

Michael Berman, director of Equity, Accountability and Federal and State Programs, said, “This award is one way for the District to publicly recognize the importance of cultural literacy and value language proficiency in our global society.” n

Federal Aviation Administration: Air Taxis Are in Our Future

In May, the Federal Aviation Administration released an updated blueprint for airspace and procedure changes to accommodate future air taxis such as the ones being developed in Santa Cruz by Stanford grad JoeBen Bevirt.

See https://www.faa.gov/air-taxis

The FAA categorizes these electric aircraft as “Advanced Air Mobility.”

The FAA says these aircraft have the potential to create transportation that is more efficient, more sustainable, and more equitable, while creating thousands of great jobs.

These aircraft could be used to transport cargo and passengers, help with firefighting, provide search and rescue operations and connect underserved and rural communities.

These aviation dreams will only happen if people are confident it is safe, just like flying in the United States today, the FAA says.

That’s the FAA’s job: Making sure this new generation of air taxis maintains the high level of safety that defines modern aviation. Many companies in this new field are the designer,

manufacturer, and operator, requiring them to obtain several certifications.

The FAA began developing standards nine months ago.

The FAA says, “We are making steady progress certifying aircraft and pilots, planning for integration of these aircraft

into the airspace, and collaborating internationally. Here are some key milestones. The vision is for air taxis to use existing routes and helicopter landing pads. As operations increase, air taxis are expected to fly in corridors between major airports and “vertiports” in major cities. n

JoeBen Bevirt, founder of the Joby Aviation air taxi company, meets King Charles III at the opening of the Whittle Laboratory in Cambridge, UK, which aims to improve aero-thermal performance of turbomachines.

Free Feasibility Study for Accessory Dwellings

Apply by July 31

The County of Santa Cruz is launching a new incentives program focused on helping homeowners in the unincorporated areas navigate the process of adding an Accessory Dwelling Unit or a Junior ADU to their homes.

An ADU is limited to 640 square feet in the urban area and 1,200 square feet in the rural area.

With nonprofit program administrator HelloADU, the program offers support to homeowners who are ready to take the next steps in building an ADU or a JADU, but could benefit from free guidance and expertise.

Support includes project feasibility, project management, cost estimating and contractor selection guidance through nonprofit Hello Housing to help participants navigate the process of designing, constructing, and renting an ADU or a JADU.

Santa Cruz County’s current Housing Element relies on accessory dwellings as a key strategy to boost the housing stock.

The 2015 version, developed under Kathy Malloy Previsich as planning director, reported capacity for 7,838 accessory dwelling units. In 2014, the county issued 37 such permits.

The permit fees are listed in the appendix and not readily accessible, but examples in 2015 of fees paid to create a second unit ranged from $4,545 for

628 square feet to $14,422 for 416 square feet in the urban area.

In the rural area, fees ranged from $4,898 for 766 square feet to $12,344 for 1,200 square feet.

In Monterey County, fees can be waived based on the percentage of affordable housing provided.

While the idea of developing a second unit is compelling to many homeowners

and can add income and increase property values, the process can be daunting.

This is especially true for homeowners facing life transitions, including new empty nesters, growing households, seniors transitioning to fixed incomes and households seeking to create affordable housing for friends and family.

By offering free feasibility and project management services to qualified homeowners, the County and Hello Housing can partner with local homeowners to create new housing and address the housing crisis while helping local homeowners increase the value of their properties.

Program applications are in English and Spanish at https://www.helloadu. org/new-santa-cruz-county-how-to-apply for qualified homeowners in unincorporated areas of the county.

Hello Housing has 18 years of experience and has worked in Fair Oaks, Pacifica and Redwood City.

To stay informed, subscribe to a newsletter at https://www.helloadu.org/ subscribe.

The application period closes July 31. n

Local designers, architects, builders, or contractors who wish to join Hello Housing’s ADU Professionals registry: https://www.helloadu.org/join-ourprofessional-network

To read the 2015 Housing Element, see https://tinyurl.com/housing-element-2015

Your Two Cents on Where to Build Housing

How can we make sure everyone has access to healthy, safe housing? How can we make housing more affordable while improving our quality of life?

Where should housing be located, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and commute times? These questions and many more are at the core of the 2023-2031 Santa Cruz County Housing Element.

The County invites community members, including those impacted by the ongoing housing crisis, to participate in the process during upcoming community meetings.

Dinner will be served at in-person meetings, and Spanish-language translation is available at all meetings.

Dates are:

– 7 p.m.

The Housing Element identifies policies and programs to meet existing and projected housing needs for the unincorporated areas of the County.

Every eight years, the state requires all counties and cities to update their Housing Element to ensure an adequate supply of housing units can be developed to meet the needs of community members at all income levels.

The Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments has assigned Santa Cruz County to plan for 4,634 units by Dec. 15, 2031. The numbers for city of Santa Cruz, 3,736; Watsonville, 2,053; Capitola, 1,336, and Scotts Valley, 1,220.

State law requires environmental impact review and a public participation process. n •••

Learn more, sign up for updates and submit comments at www.sccoplanning.com/ 2023HousingElement.

Congressional Art Competition Winners

On May 11, U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) announced student winners of the annual Congressional Art Competition.

Janica Hannah Soro, Pacific Grove High School, won first place winner for her digital artwork titled, “Welcome to the Neighborhood.” Her artwork will be placed on display in the U.S. Capitol alongside other winners.

Two local students received recognition.

Caitlin Bayaca, Aptos High School, was named Best in Show for Painting for her oil pastel, “Clockwork.”

Mary Henderson, Soquel High School, was named Best in Show for Photography for “Yaren”

Students entered from California’s 19th Congressional District, which includes San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Santa Clara counties. Of these submissions, Panetta recognized nine outstanding pieces during a reception in Capitola on May 7.

“Through the arts we gain a better understanding of ourselves, each other, and our community, which is why promoting youth arts is critical to a wellrounded education,” said Panetta. “I’m proud to recognize the hard work, creativity, and passion of these immensely talented students. I’m looking forward to admiring Janica’s piece in the United States Capitol as a marker of our community, who we are, and what we stand for in California’s 19th Congressional District.”

The Congressional Art Competition is an annual tradition that began in 1982. n

•••

2023 Honorees

• First Place: Janica Hannah Soro, Pacific Grove High School, “Welcome to the Neighborhood”

• Second Place: Dening Sun, Notre Dame High School, “Struggle for a Home Long Lost”

• Third Place: Diep Van Pham Nguyen, Independence High School, “Visions of Iridescent Flames”

• Best in Show for Digital Artwork: An Vu, Independence High School, “A Mother’s Touch”

• Best in Show for Pencil Drawing: Emily Chang, Valley Christian High School, “Grimes”

• Honorable Mention for Composition: Vivian Ming, Pacific Grove High School, “Friendly Faces”

• Honorable Mention for Technical Skill: Selina Ge, Leland High School, “Intergenerational Trauma”

What every birthday needs, party planners.

Choosing the right foods. Deciding on a safe exercise routine. Creating a birth plan. As a mom-to-be, you have a lot of planning to look forward to. Fortunately, Dignity Health – Dominican Hospital’s Family Birth Center has a whole team of specialists ready to safely guide you throughout your journey—from the support of our midwives to the added security of the only Level III NICU in the Monterey Bay area standing by. We even have live virtual classes to help you prepare for the big day.

Take a virtual tour of our Birth Center at DominicanBaby.org.

Janica Hannah Soro, Pacific Grove High School, “Welcome to the Neighborhood”

Mary Henderson, Soquel High School, Best in Show for Photography, “Yaren”

Caitlin Bayaca, Aptos High School, Best in Show for Painting, “Clockwork.”

Real Estate Update

Ruth Bates

831.359.2212

ruthbates1@gmail.com

CalBRE#01799929

FEDS RAISE RATES

For the 10th time since March 2022, the Feds raised the Federal Funds rate .25 to 5.25% on May 3rd.This rate is the rate that banks charge other banks to borrow cash on an overnight basis. The average rate for the 30-year fixed is now 6.50%, with the Jumbo rate slightly lower at 6.27%.

APTOS SOLD — Only 13 homes sold in the past 30 days. High sale was 220 Mar Sereno Court, $3,000,000, 4 bed, 2.5 bath, 2688 SF. Low sale was 705 Clubhouse, $1,175,000 (bid up from $1,095,000), 3 bed, 2 bath, 1156 SF. Median List and Sale Price was $1,600,000. Days on market was <30 for all but 3 of the properties. It is still very much a Seller’s market given the low inventory, but buyers are picky given the high interest rates, so the homes priced correctly sell quickly, while the rest languish.

APTOS ACTIVE — As of 5/08, there are 27 homes for sale, 2 condos and 2 townhomes. The Median List Price is $1,547,000. Less than 7 days on market includes: 836 Seacliff - $1,850,000, 722 Seacliff - $1,848,000, 170 Casa Linda - $1,779,000, 165 Petery - $1,749,000, 519 McDonald - $1,399,000, 140 Baker - $1,049,000. I have several New Listings “Coming Soon”.

• 528 Cuesta – 3 bed, 2 bath, 1906 Sq. Ft. with panoramic ocean views – CFP

• 342 Village Creek Road – 2 bed, 2.5, 1785 Sq. Ft. Townhome adjacent to Nisene Marks, up the hill to Aptos Village, down the hill to Rio Del Mar Beach - CFP

APTOS DEMOGRAPHICS — Per Point2homes.com, there are 6372 residents in Aptos, with a Median Age of 53.5. 43% are male and 57% are female (hum). “White-collar” workers are 84%, “bluecollar” workers are 16%. There are 2056 workers in private companies (62%) and 226 people working in government jobs (7%), the rest are self-employed. There are 2621 households, 444 households with children, and 2177 without. Time to think about Prop 19 where you can sell your home and buy a replacement home anywhere in California and keep your low tax basis. No matter what, Aptos is a very special place to live!

Call, email, text anytime and Get Results With Ruth!

Seacliff Chronicles

After several decades of collecting photographs of Aptos subjects, Ron S. Nolan has published Seacliff Chronicles in two volumes.

Packed with over 200 original color photographs taken from the mid-90s to the present, this is an ongoing effort to document the dynamic nature of Seacliff Beach, its surrounding seas and the ballet of clouds dancing in the sky.

“The cliffs at the edge have suffered carnage that will never completely heal,” Nolan said, “but the seagulls and pelicans continue their daily commutes; diving for prey and then returning to their nests on the broken bow of the cement ship, somehow telling their offspring how things used to be, but not forgotten.”

Nolan has lived in Seacliff since 1994.

Seacliff Chronicles is available at Amazon and Bookshop Santa Cruz.

The price of “Seacliff Chronicles: Beauty in the Sky and Sea” is $27.97.

“Seacliff Chronicles: A New Beginning” costs $27.47. n

•••

For more information see https://seacliff chronicles.com/

CHP: New K-9 on Duty

After 11 weeks of intensive training at the CHP Academy, Rae and her K-9 handler graduated this past Friday. This dynamic duo will be assigned to the @chpcoastaldivision where they will serve Santa Cruz County and surrounding coastal counties.

K9 teams are just one of the many specialized assignments you can pursue as a member of the California Highway Patrol. n

•••

To learn, visit www.jointhechp1000. com and apply.

World’s Shortest Parade Applications To Participate Available Now

On Tuesday, July 4, Aptos will celebrate our freedoms with t-shirts, a great parade, and a party in Aptos Village Park. This year’s parade Grand Marshal is Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks for their work in trying to restore our parks from a series of natural disasters.

The parade begins at 10 a.m. at the intersection of Soquel Drive and State Park Drive and ends at Trout Gulch Road. The party in Aptos Village Park runs from noon to 4 p.m. with activities for the whole family, games, food, beverages, craft vendors, and dancing to the band “James Durbin and The Lost Boys” for a $5 donation.

Applications to register for the “World’s Shortest Parade” or to be a

vendor for the “Party in the Park” are at aptoschamber.com & the Chamber office, (831) 688-1467. n

•••

The Chamber is asking the community to be the judges for this year’s parade. Send photos of your favorite floats, groups, pets, cars, and bands to chamberaptos@gmail.com.

LOCAL SPORTS

SCCAL Boys Volleyball All-League

First-Team

• Jackson Bloom — Aptos, Senior, Middle Blocker

• Andre Yarme — Harbor, Senior, Setter

• Noah Luksich — Harbor, Sophomore – Opposite

• Gryphon Butler — Harbor, Junior, Outside Hitter

• Kona Hickey — Santa Cruz, Senior, Middle Blocker

• Gammon Nilssen — Santa Cruz, Sophomore, Outside Hitter

• Julien Pally — Santa Cruz, Sophomore, Libero

• MVP — Kona Hickey, Santa Cruz

Second-Team

• Roberto Munoz — Aptos, Senior, Opposite

• Mavrick Maynor — Santa Cruz, Junior, Setter

• Leo Sapunor — Santa Cruz, Sophomore, Middle Blocker

• Abe Schmidt — Harbor, Sophomore, Libero

• Rowan Onorato — Harbor, Junior, Middle Blocker

• Nathan MacCarthy — Soquel, Sophomore, Outside Hitter

• Ladreal Wallwork — Scotts Valley, Senior, Outside Hitter Honorable Mention

• Aptos — Jackson Miller, Sr., Mander Miller, Jr.

• Harbor — Finley Roberts, Jr., Luke Wolfenden, Fr.

• Mt. Madonna — Sky Weir, Sr., Nikowa D’Costa-Hemp, Fr.

• Scotts Valley — Riley SchaeferWhittall, Sr., Troy Thompson, Fr.

• Soquel — Cisco Solado, So., Jake Sporleder, Sr.

• Santa Cruz — Tim Pohlman, Jr., Jonah Goodman, Sr.

Freshman of the Year

Josh Rejfir, Harbor Coach-of-the-Year Mikayla Fish, Scotts Valley HS (1st year) n

44th Annual Musical ‘Ramayana!’

Ramayana! — the 44th Mount Madonna School musical theater production — returns to entertain audiences of all ages June 8-11 at the Mexican Heritage Theater in San Jose.

Expect lively action, dazzling costumes, humor and universal life lessons.

The production features a cast of students ranging from preschool to high school, and includes traditional and contemporary music and features an adult choir and musicians, with more than a dozen original, standout songs.

“The production of ‘Ramayana!’ has been central to Mount Madonna School since its founding,” said Head of School Ann Goewert. “With this show, we carry forward a tradition inspired by Baba Hari Dass (1923-2018) and supported by the Mount Madonna Center. It’s the culmination of months of work during the academic year and is a year-end celebration for our community embracing diversity and creative self-expression. The Ramayana is a timeless classic teaching the universal values of truth, duty, love and service to the greater good. As students work together to prepare for this ambitious show, they embody the values embedded in the Ramayana.”

Mount Madonna Center for the Creative Arts and Sciences is a residential community and conference center founded in 1978 atop a mountain in Watsonville. Baba Hari Dass, a silent monk, teacher, and practitioner of yoga from India was the inspiration behind the founding of the center, which shares a history and mission with the school, and the annual performance of the “Ramayana!” is part of this mission.

The well-known tale with origins in India was adapted into a musical by members of the Mount Madonna community in the 1970s. The original songs are part of the American rock musical theater tradition, with echoes of “Hair” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” plus a nod to “Hamilton,” Broadway’s biggest musical in recent years. The current version of the show features choreographed fight scenes, monkeys and monsters, comedy, deep introspection by many characters, including King Ravana (in his 10-headed costume). Within the action are rousing choreographed dances from Bharatanatyam to Hip Hop, as well as plenty of stage combat and spectacle.

The costumes, demon and monkey masks, elaborate sets, props, and monster rigs (such as Kumbhakarna, a 25-foot puppet with a radio-controlled mechanical mouth and eyes) were created by Baba Hari Dass, as well as artisans associated with both the center and the school. Every item in the show is a work of handmade art.

Every character in the “Ramayana!” story represents an aspect of one’s personality. There is the devotional service that Hanuman represents, the greed and pride exuded by Ravana, and the sense of duty and righteousness embodied by Rama –all aspects of human nature that we each possess, and like all morality tales, the good and the virtuous are what ultimately triumphs. n

•••

All seats are reserved; tickets available at mountmadonnaschool.org/ramayana.

Photo Credit: Shmuel Thaler

Hanuman confronts the dragon.

It’s

Bowl raises $9,000 for Big Brothers Big Sisters

On April 22, Santa Cruz County Bank filled 15 bowling lanes with more than 70 employees, family, and friends to participate in the 2023 Bowl for Kids’ Sake event at the Boardwalk Bowl. The bowlers helped raise more than $9,000 in support of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County.

The bank has participated in the annual campaign since opening in 2004, and this year’s participation and fundraising numbers broke previous records.

Gabriela Triguero, experiencing her first Bowl for Kids’ Sake event as the newly appointed executive director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Cruz County, said, “The contributions from Santa Cruz County Bank were key to our exceeding our fundraising goal of $80,000, and we were delighted to see their amazing turnout at this year’s bowling event! As we undertake the exciting projects of rebuilding the agency

and moving our headquarters back to Santa Cruz, we’re grateful for the ongoing support from longtime partners like Santa Cruz County Bank.”

Krista Snelling, president and CEO of Santa Cruz County Bank, said, “Our entire team looks forward to this event every year, as evidenced by our record number of participants. We’re so grateful for our clients, employees, board members and leadership team who share the Bank’s support of this longtime community partner.”

Big Brothers Big Sisters has created and supported one-to-one mentoring relationships for more than 8,000 youths in Santa Cruz County. The One-to-One Match Program pairs screened and trained adult volunteers with young people in our community (ages 7 – 14), providing guidance, companionship, and encouragement. n

See santacruzmentor.org

Free

Legal Aid After Epic Storm

Homeowners and renters in disasterdesignated counties such as Santa Cruz and Monterey affected by the recent severe winter storms and flooding may now have access to free legal advice for disaster-related legal issues.

Residents can call a Disaster Legal Service hotline at 888-382-3406 or go to http://freelegalanswers.org.

Callers may be asked to leave a message and a specialist will get back to them as soon as possible. Callers should identify their storm-related issue and the county where their storm-damaged property is located.

Some of the issues the legal service can provide help with include:

• Insurance claims for medical bills, loss of property, and loss of life.

• New wills, powers of attorney, and

other legal papers lost during the disaster.

• Home repair contracts and contractors.

• Problems with landlords.

• Proof of home ownership.

• FEMA appeals.

The hotline is run by the Disaster Legal Assistance Collaborative, a coalition of nonprofits, legal aid organizations, government entities and law firms in California working together to offer free legal services to communities in the aftermath of natural disasters.

FEMA provides funding to the collaborative but the attorneys are not FEMA employees. The services they provide are confidential and they do not share information with FEMA. n

•••

For FEMA information, visit FEMA.gov/ disaster/4699.

Rain Brings Bountiful Bloom

By Tony Tomeo

Bloom that was delayed by the unusually wintry winter is making up for lost time. Spring bulbs, flowering cherries and deciduous magnolias were amazing. Wisterias and lilacs continue their pastel display within some climates. More flowers bloom during springtime than at any other time of year. Even roses of summer will begin their performance soon.

Pollination is the priority of all flowers. The majority of flowers exploit wind for pollination. Because they need not attract pollinators, they are neither very colorful nor very fragrant. Colorful and fragrant flowers are the minority that compete for the attention of pollinators. This includes the same colorful and fragrant flowers that are desirable for home gardens.

Whether reliant on wind or pollinators for pollination, flowers adhere to a strict schedule. Some colorful and fragrant flowers want to be receptive while their pollinators are active. However, pollinators are more likely to adjust their schedules to exploit favorite flowers. After all, there is another major incentive for spring bloom. Seed needs time to develop.

Pollination is the priority of all flowers because it is how they generate seed. Some seed develops fast enough to grow into new plants within the same year. Some annuals can actually procreate for a few fast generations annually. Most seed develop slower though. They mature during summer, overwinter, and ultimately grow during the following spring.

For now, garden enthusiasts should enjoy the most abundant bloom of the year. That will not require too much exertion.

Fresh fruit of summer will develop later. Some flowers that deteriorate without producing fruit may justify deadheading. This redirects resources for vegetative growth, and eliminates any unwanted seed. Besides, it might be a bit neater.

The most profuse spring flowers generally bloom only once annually. They will not do so again until next spring. Some less profuse bloomers may repeat with later bloom phases through summer. Of course, some flowers bloom within other seasons between summer and even winter. Their individual schedules are appropriate to the climates that they are originally native to. •••

Pride of Madeira

This is most certainly something to be proud of. Pride of Madeira, Echium candicans (or fastuosum), can bloom perfectly blue. Varieties that bloom white or lighter lavender blue are rare locally. Feral specimens might exhibit such floral color variation though. Bloom occurs only annually, but can last through spring. Butterflies and bees are very fond of it.

Pride of Madeira occasionally self sows, but is not too aggressively invasive. It performs exceptionally well within coastal climates. Feral specimens on inaccessible coastal cliffs are only briefly scruffy after bloom. Deadheading within home gardens is tidier and limits seed dispersion. Moderate watering enhances foliar color. Excessive watering rots roots.

Small new specimens of pride of Madeira grow fast, but perform for only about five years. They generally get about six feet tall and eight feet wide. Cool or foggy coastal weather promotes taller and more vigorous growth. Warm exposure might promote more compact growth. The narrow and grayish leaves are rather raspy. ‘Star of Madeira’ is a variegated and compact cultivar. n •••

Tony Tomeo can be contacted at tonytomeo. com.

Many flowers bloom only for spring.

Pride of Madeira blooms through spring.

Meet Ronnie Platt, New Mar Vista Principal

Ronnie Platt will be the new principal of Mar Vista Elementary School in Aptos for the 2023-2024 school year. This appointment was approved in March.

Platt is principal of Main Street Elementary School in Soquel, starting in 2018. Prior to that, he was assistant principal of Aptos Junior High for four years.

He began his career with PVUSD as a special education teacher at Ohlone Elementary and has also worked as a RISE program teacher and an RSP teacher. He has a bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Cruz and a master’s in educational administration from National University.

Platt also has a Level 1 Educational Specialist Credential, a Level 2 Education Specialist Mild/Moderate Credential and an Administrative Clear Credential.

He is one of several new administrative staff for 2023-24 in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, which has nearly 18,000 students.

J. Brooke Hofkins, principal of HA Hyde Elementary since 2018, will be coordinator of research and assessment. This appointment was approved in December 2022. She began her career with PVUSD in 1999 as a 2nd and 3rd grade teacher at Ann Soldo Elementary. She then became a literacy coach and then academic coordinator at Radcliff Elementary. She has a bachelor’s degree in child development from San Jose State, a multiple subject teaching credential from UCSC and a master’s in educational leadership from San Jose State along with an administrative credential.

Ana Leonor will be an assistant principal at Watsonville High School. This appointment was approved in January. She has been a counselor and administrator since 2015. A product of PVUSD, she graduated from Pajaro Valley High School, got a bachelor’s degree from UC Santa Barbara in Spanish with minors in education and psychology. Additionally, she received a PPS credential in May 2016. She has a master’s degree in education from San Jose State and is working on her doctorate through San Francisco State University in educational leadership.

Sergio Ambriz has been promoted to

assistant director, Maintenance & Operations, from supervisor of Maintenance & Operations. This appointment was approved in December 2022.

Ambriz has worked for PVUSD for 6 years starting as a maintenance specialist. He has a background in various trades such as plumbing, carpentry, and HVAC. His knowledge and understanding of the maintenance and operations systems of the district are invaluable, according to district staff who say he is skilled at problem-solving, safety compliance, leading construction projects, and instilling confidence and trust in those with whom he works.

Saulo Tirado is the new Supervisor of Maintenance & Operations. He came to PVUSD in 2015 as a bus driver and maintenance specialist carpenter. His career includes carpentry, construction, reading blueprints,

Major Tournament Sponsors

Bailey Properties

The Holcomb Corporation

Deluxe Foods of Aptos

managing job sites and taking on difficult projects. This appointment was approved in February.

Nancy Zuñiga is the new assistant director of Expanded Learning, advancing from assistant principal of extended learning for high schools. This appointment was approved in April. Her new role will allow her to interact with students and staff from grades K-12. She will plan programs, monitor budgets and work to strengthen relationships between PVUSD and the community.

Manjit Dhesi, Lisa Diamond, Gretchen Giuffre, Carl Jacquard and Georgia Tyrell will have new roles as program directors for expanded learning, overseeing multiple sites and working with staff. Previously these five administrators were coordinators of extended learning. These appointments were approved in April. n

Bob Ridino SAR Enterprises

Seascape Resort and Golf

Major Tournament Sponsors

C.B. Bodacious BBQ

Bailey Properties

The Holcomb Corporation

Driscoll’s Strawberries

Deluxe Foods of Aptos

Kevin Walters C.P.A.

Bob Ridino SAR Enterprises

Ocean Honda Aptos Street Barbeque

Seascape Resort and Golf

C.B. Bodacious BBQ

Central Coast Screen Printing

Ocean Honda Aptos Street Barbeque

Driscoll’s Strawberries

K & D Landscape

Kevin Walters C.P.A.

Valley Fresh Produce

K & D Landscape

Testorff Construction Inc

Valley Fresh Produce

Testorff Construction Inc

Allen Property Group

Central Coast Screen Printing

Kelley Trousdale—C21 Sandcastle

Allen Property Group

Kelley Trousdale C21 Sandcastle

Appenrodt Commercial Properties

Heritage Bank

Appenrodt Commercial Properties

Heritage Bank

Bailey Construction Halstead Pump

Bailey Construction Halstead Pump

DeCamara Management

DeCamara Management

Mike & Tara O’Boy Real Estate

Mike & Tara O’Boy Real Estate

Matt King Santa Cruz Insurance Services

Matt King Santa Cruz Insurance Services

Scurich Berry Farms

Scurich Berry Farms

Thank you to all our Sponsors, Players, Students & Volunteers

Thank you to all our Sponsors, Players, Students & Volunteers

Ronnie Platt

Sergio Ambriz Saulo Tirado Nancy Zuñiga

Brooke Hofkins Ana Leonor

Almost Losing Our Volkswagen Van: Another Miracle

By Barry and Joyce Vissell

This is an excerpt from our soon-tobe-published book: A Couple of Miracles: One Couple, More Than a Few Miracles.

One morning in the autumn of 1974, I unfolded a map of California and started studying it. I have always loved maps. Joyce sat next to me, finishing her breakfast.

“Look on this map, Joyce. There’s a whole wild area, the Mendocino National Forest, just north of San Francisco. Let’s go.”

And just like that, we took off in our VW van. I have always appreciated Joyce’s great love of the outdoors, and her adventurous (most of the time) spirit. Given what was to happen, I am surprised she still goes on adventures with me!

We didn’t know just how primitive the roads were, how undeveloped it was. We just drove. Or rather, I just drove. Joyce was too scared to drive on bumpy dirt roads that hugged the sides of mountains … with no guiderails and a sheer dropoff.

We had recently had our first rain of the year, after months of no rain. Being new to California, we didn’t realize what that first rain did to dirt roads in the mountains. Conditions were muddy, slippery, and treacherous.

After a few close calls … we almost slipped off the cliff in a few places …

I realized we had no business being here without four-wheel-drive. But how to turn around? There didn’t appear to be any places wide enough. We had to keep driving up the mountain. To make matters worse, it was beginning to grow dark.

Finally, I spotted a turnout … sort of. It would have to do. I slowly and carefully negotiated a turn, but started to slip sideways toward the edge of the dropoff. With every move I made, our van slipped a little more toward the edge. Forward gear, a gentle push on the gas pedal, and slipping to the side rather than forward. Reverse, and the same thing…

The situation looked grim. I got out and surveyed the scene. This was long before cell phones, so there was no calling AAA or any other form of help. Instead, realizing we needed divine help, we prayed a very sincere prayer.

We decided there was nothing more to do until morning. We camped that night in the severely slanted van. For most of the night, Joyce was pressed against me and I was pressed against the wall of the van. It was not our best night’s sleep. Okay, Joyce pressed against me had its perks.

The next morning, I walked over to examine the dropoff. It wasn’t as bad as I thought the night before. It didn’t go

straight down. Instead, it sloped steeply for about 30 or so feet, then it leveled out on a fairly level spur road that rejoined our road a little way down the mountain.

I told Joyce to get out of the van, just in case. She was worried. “Barry, what are you going to do?”

“I think I’ll try one more time.”

I didn’t sound convincing. She didn’t even try to hide her worried expression.

I got into the driver’s seat, put the van in gear, and slowly let out the clutch. The rear wheels turned, but again we did not go forward. Instead, we slipped to the right, both right wheels dropped over the edge of the turnout. The van leaned precariously over the edge, and seemed to be on the verge of rolling over.

I acted quickly. I opened the driver’s door fully, jumped out of the van, hanging onto the open door as a sort of lever to try to keep the van from toppling. Now I was in a desperate situation! If the van started to go over the edge sideways, I would have to let go of the door, and just let it go. As long as I kept my full weight on the end of the door, the van stayed put.

Now what? I knew I couldn’t stay there forever. Without help, we were really in a bind. We hadn’t seen one other car since we had been on this dirt road.

My mind flashed on the worst outcome. If the van rolled onto its side, it probably would either slide or continue rolling down the bank. We stood a chance of losing the van and all our belongings.

Just when I didn’t think I could hold on to that door any longer, we heard voices. A few minutes after that, out of the woods above us came three big young men wearing backpacks. They lost no time in jumping into rescue mode. One of them had a climbing rope, which he quickly secured to the roof-rack on our van. All three of them, with Joyce and my help, tried to get the van back up top, but without success.

I made a decision. I announced, “Okay guys, this is what I’m gonna do. You hold onto that rope to keep the van from toppling over, and I’m gonna turn the van down the bank and drive straight down to the road below us.”

Joyce said, “Barry, that sounds crazy!”

I answered her, “Yeah, maybe, but I really think I can make it. And it looks like it’s our only hope.”

The three men looked grim, but nodded their consent to me.

One man spoke, “Go ahead. We’ll do our best to keep the van on its wheels.”

Sometimes there are just no guarantees in life…

I got in the driver’s seat once more, this time turning the steering wheel to the right, down the bank, shifted into first gear, and let out the clutch. The van started to slip sideways, going into an even more precarious tilt. Without those three strong men holding the rope, I would have surely rolled over.

Then another miracle happened. The rear wheels grabbed enough of the hillside to propel the van forward just enough to begin the turn down the steep bank. The next second, I was part rolling, part slipping, accelerating straight down the bank, hit the bottom with a loud clunk, and then bounced onto the road. We had made it! Without any damage to our van!

I heard a whooping cheer erupt from above me as Joyce and the men crept and slid down the bank toward me. There was hugging and congratulations.

Joyce said to them, “We want you all to know that you are the answer to our prayers. We couldn’t have gotten out without your help.”

One of the men said, “I hurt my ankle last night, and the three of us decided to abort our trip. We knew we had a 30-mile hike out, but we had two choices. One way was by trail all the way down the mountain. The other way was a trail the opposite way to a dirt road we saw on our map. It was significantly longer to walk to our car via this second route, but we chose it. We didn’t know why. It just felt right. Little did we know we would come out onto the dirt road right here and be able to help you.”

We offered the men a ride back to their car, for which they were grateful. At their car, we said our goodbyes, and again commented on the amazing synchronicity of events. It was yet another miracle in a long string of miracles called life. n

•••

Joyce & Barry Vissell, a nurse/therapist and psychiatrist couple since 1964, are counselors in Aptos who are passionate about conscious relationship and personal-spiritual growth. They are the authors of 9 books and a new free audio album of sacred songs and chants. Call 831-684-2130 for information on counseling sessions by phone, online, or in person, their books, recordings or their schedule of talks and workshops. Visit their web site at SharedHeart.org.

Libraries: Something For Everyone A Click Away

By Judie Block

Do you love books and love to read? Most of us have a library card. but do we know the true value of our library card?

A library card has no monetary value. It is free to California residents who want one. Just walk into any of our 10 libraries and sign up or do it online. It will serve as a doorway to adventure, dreams and educational opportunities.

Libraries have changed. They are much more than big buildings with shelves of musty books. Thanks to Proposition S, in Santa Cruz County we are rebuilding and acquiring state of the art libraries — community centers that offer more than books. Much is technology now in our beautiful new community centers.

From cookbooks, mysteries, science fiction and biographies, the libraries have something for readers of all ages and interests.

Card-holders now have free access to streaming video and music as well as books, popular magazines, newspapers and resources. Library card users can

download from home with a simple click into this new world. Did you know that one can check out a telescope to go stargazing from our libraries? Did you know that you can get a free 3-week pass to all of our State Parks?

Santa Cruz Libraries are a goldmine in our own backyards. We can stream movies from Kanopy, get animated picture books from Tumblebooks amongst other downloadables.

Doing research? We have a huge science database, reliable US history resources, Consumer Reports and various news resources.

Interested in your ancestry, we have numerous genealogical sources… Again, no charge.

There are also monthly events from Nature Journaling to Dungeons and Dragons.

Libby is a resource to stream books

into your own home on your personal computers or tablets.

The resources are great for saving money and being entertained and educated.

Libraries are among our country’s most democratic institutions. They promote free and open access to information for everyone.

One of the easiest ways to promote this mission is to help people get a library card. Libraries use their signup statistics to prove their value to local policymakers and advocate (for always) much needed funding. By having a library card, it shows you know how important libraries are to our country.

As a library user, let your community know what is out there by telling them to go to www.santacruzpl.org on the computer and all the info is at your fingertips. No computer?

They are there waiting for you at the libraries. n

Learn more at www.santacruzpl.org.

Judie Block and her library card

Let’s Consider a Public Bank

People for Public Banking Central Coast is a group of local citizens leading an effort to establish a regional public bank for the California Central Coast. Because no city or county on the central coast is large enough to easily establish its own public bank, a regional public bank will best suit this conglomeration.

Potential participating areas include Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara.

The regional public bank would serve cities, counties and special districts (such as water districts), but would not be a retail bank for individual customers.

PPBCC is a chapter of the California Public Banking Alliance.

PPBCC was started by a group of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom members. We are strongly supportive of Black Lives Matter and other movements for racial, social and environmental justice.

One of the primary motivations for the establishment of a public bank is to address social inequities in our communities; public banks keep local funds in our communities, rather than letting our dollars get siphoned out to corporate Wall Street banks.

What is a Public Bank?

Public banks are owned by the people through their representative government.

This could be a Tribe, City, County, State, or Federal Government. The bank can receive deposits of public funds (such as taxes, fees, fines, or interest earned) from the representative government that owns it, and can also make loans to that same representative government.

Public banks are mandated to serve the public good. The interest and profits earned by the bank’s functions belong to the community and are reinvested back into the community.

Public banks can cut the cost of public infrastructure projects in half by providing loans at much lower interest rates than corporate Wall Street banks. They can also provide low-interest loans for important projects and services like affordable housing, public safety, environmental protection, and humanitarian services.

Public banks spur economic growth and create new jobs by reinvesting their earned interest and profits back into the community. And because the earned interest and profits from public banks are a new form of public revenue, they serve to lower local government debt.

Public banks give state and local treasuries a place to deposit their money that divests from fossil fuels, and instead invests under socially responsible standards.

Public banks can also provide a safe place for banking cannabis earned cash that is currently prohibited by the federal government from being deposited into private banks.

Public banks have no exorbitantlypaid bank executives, thus cutting off the Wall Street middlemen from profiting off of our local tax dollars.

Status: Study Underway

As of February, we are conducting a viability study. We are optimistic that the results will be in favor of establishing a public bank for the central coast.

In the meantime, we are continuing to reach out to county and city council members and rallying even more support for the movement.

So far, three counties and nine cities have agreed to share the funding for the $150,000 viability study for a regional public bank: County of Santa Cruz, County of Santa Barbara, County of Monterey, City of Santa Cruz, City of Watsonville, City of Scotts Valley, City of Capitola, City of Seaside, City of Marina, City of Salinas, City of Del Rey Oak, and City of Monterey.

Santa Cruz County has taken the lead and assigned J. Peter Detlefs, principal administrative analyst to the project. Peter has completed the request for Pproposals from consultants qualified to prepare the viability study. He is currently getting the paperwork done by all participants to arrange for them to pay their share.

By Steve Pleich

Recent Actions

OnJan. 26, Public Banking Institute reported:

“Updates From Around The Country Show Substantial Progress In The Public Banking Movement In The U.S.”

In March 2022, Public Bank East Bay reported: “Viability Study Conducted by Public Bank East Bay”

In October 2019, the governor signed the California AB 857 Public Banking Act into law.

Want to Get Involved?

We have an active local group that meets regularly. If you would like to get involved, contact us at https:// peopleforpublicbanking.com/contact-us/ or check Facebook. n

•••

Editor’s note: This movement is similar to the one that created Central Coast Community Energy, a locally controlled electricity provider to deliver cleaner energy with rebates to customers. An initiative of Santa Cruz Supervisor Bruce McPherson, it launched as Monterey Bay Community Power in 2017 and has grown to include 33 communities in four counties.

Pricing the Public Out of Public Records

By Ginny LaRoe, Advocacy Director, First Amendment Coalition

$84,001.22. That’s how much a California county wanted to charge one local journalist to respond to a pair of public records requests.

The math goes something like this: To locate and identify records related to a marijuana eradication program, Mendocino County staff estimated it would take 2,139 hours, costing $67,145. For records revealing details of government workers’ use of the disappearing messaging app Signal, it would take an estimated 534 hours, costing almost $16,900. And just to get the county working on assembling the records, a deposit would need to be paid up front.

With fees like this, the public would be priced out of public records.

That’s why we’re relieved to report

that after months of public pushback, Mendocino County has reconsidered the misguided fee structure that resulted in such exorbitant charges. The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to repeal its local law, less than a year after adopting it as a purported cost-savings measure.

That’s right: Faced with lawful requests for public records, county leaders last year opted to respond by imposing this transparency tax, with fees ranging from $20 to $150 an hour for staff time to respond.

If that sounds like an unacceptable barrier to public information, rendering the California Public Records Act an effective tool only for the elite few, it is.

This week’s repeal came after backlash from press groups, community members,

and open-government advocates. As our legal team told the county last week, we were prepared to go to court if the Board of Supervisors didn’t take swift action.

No law authorizes counties to impose fees for locating, reviewing, or redacting public records, lawyers for FAC and ACLU of Northern California told the county.

California’s open records framework limits government fee recovery in important ways. Agencies can generally only charge requesters for the direct costs of duplication, typically cents a page for copies. And there are circumstances when agencies can impose fees for producing or compiling certain electronic records, though the California Supreme Court has put guardrails on that. The county’s fee regime, however, went beyond that and

relied on a state law outside of the Public Records Act, which we have made clear was misapplied. And to great detriment.

The Mendocino Voice, a news website serving the region, is still waiting for the records the county said would cost $84,001.22. That figure is about one-third of the news organization’s annual operating budget, Publisher Kate Maxwell told us. And a media program the county established that could theoretically have waived some fees is insufficient for journalists to be able to do the important work of informing their communities and fails to address the broader concerns about public access to information, Maxwell and other journalists have made clear.

“Public

Debt Ceiling Crisis Could Result In ‘Major Recession’ Cal Poly Economics Professor Says Even Threat of Defaulting Can Rattle the Economy

The U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1 if the federal government doesn’t raise the debt ceiling. Republican lawmakers have insisted they won’t raise the debt limit without significant spending cuts that Democrats have resisted, leading to a showdown.

Dan Seiver, an economics professor at the Orfalea College of Business at Cal Poly, said the mere threat of the U.S. defaulting on its debt can rattle the stock market and trading in the U.S. dollar.

“If we do not raise the debt ceiling, the U.S. will be forced to default on some or all of its obligations — Treasury securities, and payments for social security, etc.,” Seiver

Timeline to Reopen Pajaro Middle School

OnMay 8, Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, superintendent of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, wrote families of students at the flooded Pajaro Middle School now at Lakeview Middle School to share the timeline for reopening.

Repairs will take place next school year that will render the campus unusable.

As a result, Pajaro Middle School 7th and 8th graders will remain at Lakeview Middle School, maintaining their own identity.

Hall and Ohlone students entering 6th grade will remain at their elementary school.

The work includes cleaning, design, repair and reconstruction such as removal of floors. Here is the timeline:

Mid June: Drying, cleaning the campus, removal of usable items, cleaning and storing salvageable items.

July-August: Developing scope of work for phase 2.

September-December: Develop plans and construction documents for phase 2

December: Begin review and approval of phase 2 by Department of State Architecture

Begin construction immediately after DSA approval and bidding process. n

said. “The economy could easily tailspin into a major recession with rising unemployment. At the same time lenders will be less willing to lend to the U.S., meaning interest rates could go even higher.”

Seiver appears regularly on the PBS TV program, “Nightly Business Report.”

While some have argued it’s irresponsible to carry a lot of debt, Seiver said the U.S. economy could not function without it.

“Many Americans have mortgage debt, which is the only way they could afford to own a home,” he said. “Many students have student debt for the same reason. And most corporations have debt, including highly profitable ones, like Google ($14 billion in debt).

“Modern capitalist economies would be much poorer if we all decided to ‘neither a borrower nor lender be.’”

Significant spending cuts, he added, could force Americans to cut back their spending. “And these cuts in spending will then lead to further cuts as businesses see a drop in demand for their goods and services — leading to layoffs spreading through the economy.”

Reducing the debt, he added, would require a surplus in the government budget, entailing a combination of over a trillion dollars of cuts in spending and tax increases. The current debt — which Seiver said is sustainable and serviceable — was incurred by laws approved by both Republican and Democratic presidents.

“It would be irresponsible not to pay what we owe,” Seiver said. “When Americans agree on taxing ourselves more heavily and cutting back future spending, we will have a more ‘responsible’ budget.” n

Economic Outlook

Economist Dr. Chris Thornberg will speak at Monterey Bay Economic Partnership’s 9th Annual Economic Outlook, 9:30-11:20 a.m. May 25.

With 20+ years of experience in economic forecasting and consulting, Thornberg is known for his engaging and insightful presentations on the intersection of economics and public policy.

He will share his perspectives on key economic indicators for the Monterey Bay region and provide his outlook for the economy in the coming months and years.

Price is $29. Register at https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/9th-annualregional-economic-outlook-tickets629420843687?

Monterey County Update on Unpermitted Housing

This statement comes from Monterey County Chief Public Information Officer Nicholas Pasculli:

•••

The County of Monterey is aware of the unfortunate situation involving unpermitted housing in northern Monterey County. We are currently working to provide appropriate alternative services to the approximately 100 individuals affected, including children.

The unpermitted housing has serious implications for life, health and safety and we are working with the property owner to address these concerns.

We take this matter seriously and are committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of all residents in Monterey County. We are working diligently to pursue appropriate means to assist those affected by these living conditions.

For child welfare purposes, our primary objective is to assist in providing access to eligible resources for which residents may be able to apply.

Our goal is to prevent similar situations from happening in the future, and we remain dedicated to upholding the law and protecting the rights of all residents in Monterey County. We encourage anyone with information about any

other inappropriate housing situations to report it immediately.

Unpermitted Housing in Royal Oaks

The County of Monterey wants to provide an update regarding unpermitted housing in northern Monterey County. In addition to our statement issued May 10, we want to inform the public that the property owner has received notices of violation from the County’s Housing and Community Development and Environmental Health Bureau for the numerous health, safety, and building violations on the property.

To date, the County has imposed a fee of $59,600, and those fees will continue to increase per day while the violations remain on the property.

The County takes these violations very seriously, and we will continue to

hold the property owner accountable for their actions.

As part of our efforts to provide assistance to the affected families, the County of Monterey is requiring that the landlord provide two months of relocation assistance at the fair market value for every family occupying the estimated 62 make-shift dwellings on the property per the Monterey County Code.

This is necessary to ensure that these families are able to find safe and suitable housing during this difficult time.

We want to assure the residents that our County agencies are working diligently with them to provide resources and referrals to local nonprofit agencies, such as the Family Resource Center, to ensure that their basic human needs are being addressed.

Our overarching objective is to resolve this situation in the best interest of the individuals affected, which includes working with the property owner to ensure compliance with applicable laws.

This is an ongoing investigation and as such steps are being taken to protect the integrity of law enforcement’s activities and most importantly to protect the rights of the people affected by this discovery. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available. n

Dan Seiver

Photo Credit: Jeremy Lezin

No Balloons, Teacher Salaries, Pajaro Water, Unexcused Absences

Will there be both virtual and in-person credit recovery options for high schoolers this summer?

Summer High School Credit Recovery

Programming will take place at Watsonville High School. All courses include an in-person weekly requirement for students. This year many of our classes will offer hybrid and blended options as staff capacity allows. Hybrid and blended options requiring daily attendance of students. All educators will be at WHS to provide live instruction and tutoring support daily. Transportation will be provided. Will Natasha’s Kitchen be reinstated any time soon?

Natasha’s reopened as District Grounds on Feb. 1. District Grounds is open M-F for breakfast from 7:30-9:30 am.

In addition to breakfast, District Grounds plans to open for grab and go lunch Tuesdays –Thursdays starting next school year.

While their main focus is on preparing and serving meals for the students of PVUSD, the Food & Nutrition Services department is pleased to operate this small cafe at the District Office.

If you have additional questions or want more information, please call the Food & Nutrition Services Office at 831-786-2325

What is happening at the front of the District Office?

In a continued effort to provide the best customer service to our students and families as well as focus on staff safety, the District Office is improving the main entrance.

“Public Records” from page 23

“A great deal of our reporting relies on access to public records,” Maxwell said. “We can’t afford to spend thousands of dollars in fees just to access the information and records we need to do our jobs.”

While Mendocino County’s ordinance has fallen amid community outcry, fees like these remain a problem elsewhere.

Research by FAC and ACLU identified seven other counties — Santa Cruz, Los Angeles, Shasta, Siskiyou, Calaveras, Tuolumne, and Ventura — that passed local

These improvements include an ADAaccessible entryway and new reception area on the first floor. Construction began May 1 and is expected to be completed by the end of July.

My office mate was recognized as an Innovator of the Year. Can I attend to support her?

Theannual Innovator of the Year Award event is a wonderful way to celebrate the many contributions of both certificated and classified staff.

All PVUSD staff members, community members and families of the recipients are invited to celebrate on Monday, May 15, at 6 pm at Mello Center.

I am in the process of applying for different districts and I wanted to ask if you could share the updated salary schedule for teachers? I have not been able to locate the updated schedule and would like to view it before I consider your district.

The updated salary schedules were taken to the board on April 26 and were approved. They are now in the process of being finalized to post on our website.

They will be posted on the PVUSD HR website by close of business on Friday, May 5, and can be found at: https:// www.pvusd.net/Departments/HumanResources/Salary-Schedules/index.html. Which institutions are being celebrated for the College Signing Day? Are you finally including students going into the military?

PVUSD Signing Day celebrates all post-secondary choices and commitments for our graduating Senior Class of 2023.

ordinances purporting to give them the authority to impose fees on the public for staff time spent on responding to requests. California law mandates government transparency. Voters even made it part of our state constitution.

We hope Mendocino County’s failed attempt to price the public out of public records sends a strong message to political leaders across the state: Government transparency is for all of the people, not just for those who can afford it. n •••

See www.firstamendmentcoalition.org

These commitments include attending a university, community college, private institution, trade school, and/or the military.

The outdoor lunch celebration and connecting event for students will be on the lawn at the PVUSD Family Engagement Center Friday, May 12.

I am the parent of a student who attends

Lakeview School, I have just been contacted telling me that my student will not be able to walk at his graduation because he has an absence that was not excused for the reason that it was raining and we live in an area flood risk and was unable to walk to school for that reason.

“PVUSD Q&A” page 26

At the Airport

2. Equal to pi times r squared

4. Insect in adult stage

Hajj destination

9. Like kittens’ mittens

10. “The Sun ____ Rises” by Hemingway

11. Thailand, once 12. Tofu bean, pl. 15. Walkways

20. “Peer Gynt” composer Edvard ____ 22. Dot-com address 24. Wrestling match, e.g. 25. *Air traffic control feature

26. Fully informed 27. Army doctor 29. Traffic sign 31. ____ of measurement

32. Rock bottom

33. Search blindly 34. Island off Manhattan 36. Vegas cube 38. H or O in H2O, e.g.

42. Opposite of cathode 45. Obliquely 49. Knightly title 51. Slash’s instrument

Make believe 56. Cause for food recall 57. Attention-getting sound 58. Gym class test? 59. *Captain’s announcement, plural acronym 60. Porter order 61. June 6, 1944

62. Type of #14 Across 63. Grannies, in UK 64. Clarified butter 67. *PreCheck org.

Q&A With Dr. Michelle Rodriguez, Superintendent, Pajaro Valley Unified School District

Mercury Direct, Mother’s Day, Gemini Sun & Pentecost

Mother’s Day is Sunday and, in the evening, Mercury stations direct at six degrees Taurus. When Mercury is stationing, our minds seem to fall into a semi-pralaya (sleep). We can be so internal as to not be present. Communication with mother (whether here or in heaven) is most important on Mother’s Day. Wherever they are their hearts are aware, open, alive and listening. It’s important to offer words of kindness, recognition and gratitude. All mothers (an assignment, a spiritual undertaking and a job description) are constantly learning how to be mothers. The task of mothering is demanding, arduous, daunting, difficult, confusing, filled with suffering and paradox. Mothering is an Initiation. Some (adult) children are estranged from their mothers. Such sadness! We pray for a healing to occur in this situation of separation. In our mothers’ later years, they will look to us for guidance. Let us promise this to them, safeguarding our mothers with understanding, compassion and love.

Mercury remains in its retrograde shadow until June 1st. We remain quite inward until then, the world gradually coming into clear alignment. We continue to order & organize resources, considering our values — what we value, what is of value, ourselves as valuable.

ARIES

As we move through the season of spring, tend to all promises, follow all rules, act like a Taurus (which may feel a bit daunting and restrictive but it is very illuminating) and make sure that no resistance, aversion or opposition colors your attitude and ways of being. Honor is most important and one progresses more easily when the virtues of patience, understanding and grace are cultivated. These become of great value to your sense of self in the months to come.

TAURUS

Your energy is up and down, high and low, there and not there. Your responsibilities however remain and each day more and more appear. You would rather turn away, find friends to chat with, take short trips to the bank and back, garden, and either envision or research all that’s needed for the future. When responsibilities and the need for freedom collide, it’s best to simply focus on goals. Or garden. Then you can continue to dream. A gate soon opens. Its arch is all twelve signs of the zodiac.

GEMINI

Heavens! There are two distinctly polarized situations occurring. One keeps you hidden, protected and behind the scenes and the other out and about in the world. Here all your values are apparent and you talk about them openly because sharing them helps define you. You are at times pulled into quietude and silence, a sort of repose before the outer world or the storm or Sun or something calls to you. Perhaps it’s a lot of praise. Or a move. Or a book.

CANCER

Many consider your valuable resources and wonder if they can be used to redirect a group or a committee or a village or a town. And you wonder if how you are using your resources efficiently for both long- and short-term needs. Then family needs crop up and you worry and fret and don’t sleep nights and the past reoccurs and you’re sad sometimes and need help to realign. It’s hard to ask for help. And hard to trust it will come. Ask anyway. Always when we ask, it is given.

When stationing (being still) direct, it takes Mercury three days to reorient itself to moving forward. Very slowly we too begin to move forward, putting things back into place again. We no longer feel like we are walking backward into a mist.

Although Mercury will no longer be retrograde, Pluto is retrograde with more retrogrades to follow. Mid-June Saturn retrogrades and by July’s end we will have five retrograde planets. The most important will be Venus, retrograding at 28 degrees Leo. By late August we will have seven planets retrograde, including both Mercury and Venus. Knowing this information we can prepare for our future more efficiently and effectively. Autumn will be a season of inner observation, scrutiny, examination, study, reflection, re-assessment and contemplation (the meditation phase of Libra).

We have a new moon Friday, May 19 at the very end degrees of Taurus. The following Sunday, May 21, Sun enters Gemini and everyone begins to chat and talk and share once again. Making contact releases love. Pentecost is May 28. A fire descends and hovers over our heads. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit, a line of light from a star in the Big Dipper. n

LEO

Each day there is more and more clarity about your work and purpose in the world. And each day you feel more courage to pursue the goals of freedom and justice, to fight for what’s right, to realize that a values shift is taking place in your life and this shift may create a personal future you only hoped for. A new two-year cycle has begun and it’s calling up all hopes, dreams and wishes you’ve ever had and asking you to follow your heart. Where is it (your heart)?

VIRGO

The past years have been challenging for Virgos. There’s been a shifting of structures, a sense of being under a taskmaster and you’ve had many tasks and responsibilities to tend to. Soon, this will shift a bit and you will feel a new sense of freedom and relief from the taxing demands and tests undergone. What actually will occur is a new path forward appears. Saturn in Pisces calls you to a new order of things. You quietly celebrate.

LIBRA

A more restrained and thoughtful view of life is quietly beginning to take hold of your thoughts, actions and feelings. This is good, though it could feel restrictive. Simply consider it as another step in growing up, being responsible, learning how to tend clearheadedly to the demands of life and how to act with more diplomacy, sensitivity and refinement. There’s a struggle for balance, a struggle to be heard and understood. There is no compromise. Be strong and call for courage. Forgiveness helps.

SCORPIO

You had obligations. Then your dreams appeared and disrupted all your obligations. And it became clear that you had to choose. And then relationship issues (questions?) cropped up and you had more realties than you could handle. A burning ground has appeared. Something is changing within. It’s pushing you to break all previous habits, to drop the past and all previous patterned ways of being. Follow this. It’s a call from your future. Don’t resist. Three steps up to a door appears.

SAGITTARIUS

Tremendous work was called for this past year and it will continue. If you take each day and work slowly through it (like a Taurus), then you will come to the end of each day with feelings of great success and pride in what you have accomplished. Is there someone special contacting you? Or the possibility of money from someone close? Be prepared, after a small respite, for new work to appear. High energy will be called for. Rest for now. Before the new lighted path appears.

CAPRICORN

You have presented yourself this year as a great server of those in need. This is discipleship work. There is another side to you — the creative side activated in gardens, woods, fields and meadows. It can be found with hands in the earth, plants with deep roots, and a pantry (or lunchbox) filled with sweet and savory homemade foods. You need comfort and safeguards as you serve others. We are always and only asked to come forth with our gifts when there is a need. Those you are serving are deeply grateful.

AQUARIUS

There is a focus on relationships, whether it’s friends, acquaintances, or the many people in your life seeking your attention. You have a need for care and intimacy with another. Sometimes needs make us feel unsure of ourselves. But you have confidence to ask for what is needed. Be aware some people will not be able to respond. But many more will. You want to have a clean well-lighted place of security and beauty. Many things about home and resources will occur in the coming months. They are good things. You can rest in this assurance.

PISCES

You are being presented with a greater field of recognition. This is a new expanded stage of work needed for humanity. Know you are fully capable and have the essential qualities and gifts to fulfill the situations being offered. You will rely more on your gifts as you move forward into your future and make correct decisions. There is an army of angels and supporters ready to assist you in this work. You are not alone. Courage and confidence present themselves. Wear them like a mantle and a crown.

“PVUSD Q&A” from page 25

I understand that the absences were excused for this reason due to the risk during this time. What can I do so that my son can walk and the absence is excused?

California Education Code section 48205 states a student absence is excused for the following reasons: Pupil’s illness or for the benefit of mental or behavioral health; due to quarantine; medical appointment; attending funeral services of an immediate family member; an appearance in court; a religious holiday; school closure; or, for the purpose of the student’s naturalization ceremony.

PVUSD requirements for participation in the eighth grade promotion ceremony include a GPA of 1.5 and no F grades, unexcused absences, or suspensions during the 4th quarter. Students may attend promotion classes at each of the middle schools to raise their grades.

Additionally, students with unexcused absences may attend Saturday School to “clear” the unexcused absence and become eligible for the promotion ceremony.

Would you please share the link to the dates/ times for graduation ceremonies this year?

The page where you will find dates and times for the middle school promotions and high school graduations is at https:// tinyurl.com/2023-PVUSD-grad-events. Please note there have been changes for some middle school promotions, so check the link.

I heard we are not allowed to bring balloons of any kind or size to graduation event. We ask all students and families to follow Board-approved resolution 21-22-05 regarding Environmental Sustainability.

This Resolution was approved on July 28, 2021 by the PVUSD Board of Trustees and prohibits the use of all balloons on PVUSD property or at official activities and instead encourages the use of environmentally-friendly alternatives.

The was a student-led effort to ensure PVUSD is committed to wisely using limited resources and avoiding environmental damage as much as possible.

Is it safe to drink the water in Pajaro?

(Correction from last week)

Both Pajaro Water System and Sunny Mesa Water System have released official statements regarding the cancellation of Do Not Drink Notices for customers:

Cancellation of Do Not Drink Notice on April 7, 2023 for Pajaro Water System: https://www.co.monterey.ca.us/Home/ Components/News/News/9887/1336.

Cancellation of Do Not Drink Notice on April 10, 2023 for Sunny Mesa Water System: https://tinyurl.com/SM-nodrink-cancel. n

Siena House Welcomes New Leaders COMMUNITY

Siena House, a Santa Cruz nonprofit residential program for pregnant women and new mothers and their newborns experiencing homelessness, announces two new leaders: Jessica Ravetz, executive director, and Meghan French, director of development.

Ravetz succeeds Mel Defé, who retired this spring.

Ravetz has over two decades of experience starting, building, and running nonprofits dedicated to new moms and healthy babies across the globe.

Her most memorable experiences include time spent on the Tibetan plateau and breaking ground on Tibet’s first birth center; working with women entrepreneurs in Kenya and Haiti to create viable and sustainable businesses to support themselves and their families; and developing and leading employee incentive programs to connect first world employees to communities that are cash poor but rich in many meaningful ways.

She has a master’s degree in international and intercultural management with a focus on organizational development and nonprofit leadership.

Board president Heidi Rielly said, “Jessica has a deep passion for empowering women and children and as we enter a new phase of growth, her fresh perspective and strategic vision will help us expand our services to support more families in need.”

Ravetz said,”Siena House has a

Killer Whales!

On May 4, New School’s 10th Outdoor School & Character Development program sent half the students out on the new whale rescue boat with Mother Nature’s Temple and the other half went on a nature hike through Elkhorn Slough.

The students who went out on the whale rescue boat saw quite a few orcas.

Captain Mark Kesterson said it’s one of only a few times he’s seen them in his 15 years in the Monterey Bay and that these sightings were by far his best. n

lengthy history of being a safe haven for moms and newborns. And now, under the steady guidance of a fully-engaged board and with financial support from our generous donor community, Siena House is ready to grow and support more women and their babies during this vulnerable and pivotal time of life.”

French is Siena House’s first director of development. She was a case manager at Walnut Avenue Family & Women’s Center in Santa Cruz.

She has experience in social services, real estate, and music/performance in California, Oregon, and Montana. She has a bachelor’s degree in music from Lewis & Clark College.

French said, “I am excited to support the long term viability of Siena House as we aim to achieve new levels of success and growth.”

Founded in 1999, Siena House has always operated as a secular organization to welcome and support women from all beliefs and backgrounds. The holistic aims to heal the whole woman — mind, body, and spirit — as she works towards self-sufficiency. Siena House provides intensive,

residential and wraparound support, including therapy, case management, life skills development, and connections to housing, employment, and other resources in a safe, nurturing home through the first year of the baby’s life. n

For information, see www.sienahouse.org

Meghan French

Jessica Ravetz

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

ANNOUNCEMENTS

CABRILLO COLLEGE GRADUATION

Cabrillo College will host its graduation ceremony at 4 p.m. Friday, May 26 , at Carl Conelly Stadium, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos.

Check-in will start at 2 p.m.

The Bookstore is accepting orders of graduation regalia. Hours are 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. MondayThursday and 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday.

The Welcome Center is accepting applications for the Graduation Gown Loan Program; graduates still need to buy a cap and tassel for the ceremony.

End of Year Celebrations

May 5: EOPS Recognition at Seacliff Inn (Invite only)

May 10: Guardian Scholars celebration, 3 p.m. at their office

May 12: Lavender Graduation, 11:30 a.m. (Must RSVP)

May 13: Nuestra Recognition Ceremony, 4 p.m. in the Amphitheater.

A reception will follow in the Cafeteria for students and their families. (Must RSVP)

May 18: UMOJA celebration, 5:30 p.m.

May 25: Veterans celebration

PAJARO VALLEY GRADUATION DATES

Wednesday May 31

Virtual Academy, 9:30 a.m. at Mello Center

Pacific Coast Charter School, noon at Mello Center

Pajaro Valley High, 2:30 p.m. at PVHS

Renaissance, 5 p.m. at Mello Center

New School, 7:30 p.m. at Mello Center

Thursday June 1

Aptos Jr High, 11 a.m. at Cabrillo College

Aptos High, 5 p.m. at Cabrillo College

Diamond Technology Institute, 3:30 p.m. at Mello Center

Watsonville High, 1:30 p.m. at WHS

LUNCH WITH SEN. JOHN LAIRD

11:30 a.m.–1 p.m., Seascape Golf Club, 610 Clubhouse Dr. Aptos Chamber of Commerce plans its 4th luncheon meeting of the year Friday, June 9 at Seascape Golf Club with special guest speaker Senator John Laird.

Price: $35 per person. Reservations required. See http://aptoschamber.com/ or call 831-688-1467.

SAN BENITO ARTS COUNCIL OPENING

There is an opening on the San Benito County Arts Council’s Board, and Aromas residents want to keep someone from Aromas on it.

The term of the current Aromas representative Rachel Wohlander is soon up and she’s actively seeking someone to fill her position. Meetings are monthly. If you are interested, contact Jennifer Laine at info@sanbenitoarts.org

RECREATIONAL HALIBUT SEASON OPENS

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announces the opening of the 2023 recreational Pacific halibut fishery, and remain open every day until Nov. 15 or until the quota is reached, whichever is earlier.

The 2023 Pacific halibut quota for the California subarea is 39,540 pounds – approximately the same as the 2022 quota.

CDFW’s recommended season dates were informed

by a scoping process that included an online angler survey conducted earlier this year.

The open dates are not guaranteed days, and the season could be closed early if it is determined that projected catches will exceed the California quota.

Anglers can check for updated information on season dates, bag/possession limits and gear restrictions at https://wildlife.ca.gov/News/recreational-pacific-halibutfishery-set-to-open-may-1#gsc.tab=0

REDWOOD MOUNTAIN FAIRE AT ROARING CAMP

Saturday June 3 and 4, Roaring Camp, 5401 Graham Hill Rd, Felton

This is a weekend-long, family-friendly music festival with 20+ bands on three stages, local beer/ wine/cider, local artists, locally made food and a kids zone.

It all takes place in an open field surrounded by redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

Gates open at 10:30 am. Music, 11 am-8 pm. This is a benefit for local nonprofits. Buy tickets at the gate, $30 per day for adults. Kids 12 and under free.

$20 parking: cash only or pre-purchase online.

Green event: Bring a RMF glass or purchase onsite

More details at www.redwoodmountainfaire.com

VENDORS WANTED

Vendors wanted for Cabrillo Lions annual Midsummer Market Aug, 12 in Aptos Village Park.

Donations for space rent are $35 for various local charity projects.

Vendors of all types welcome. Contact 831-688-3356 or carousel21@hotmail.com.

FREE TAI CHI CLASSES

Santa Cruz County Parks has won a grant from the National Recreation and Park Association to train staff to teach tai chi for arthitis.

The class will be taught by Ruby Perez and start soon. For information, email recreation@scparks.com.

COUNTY FAIR BOARD MEETINGS

1:30 p.m., Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville

Here are the dates of the remaining County Fair Board meeting dates in 2023. Each meeting takes place on a Tuesday:

May 23, June 27, July 25, Aug. 22, Oct. 24, and Dec.

5, all at the fairgrounds.

Meetings also take place on Zoom. For agendas, see santacruzcountyfair.com.

ONGOING EVENTS

Mondays BRIDGE CLUB

10 a.m.-Noon, Capitola Branch Library, 2005 Wharf Road

The Capitola Branch Library will host Bridge Club sessions on Mondays (except holidays).

Everyone is welcomed from beginners to social players. Make new friends and sharpen your mind.

Bridge Club is a partnership between Santa Cruz County Parks and Santa Cruz Public Libraries.

Register at scparks.com or in-person the day of the event.

May 15th 2023 / Aptos Times www.tpgonlinedaily.com

Tuesdays

EL MERCADO FARMER’S MARKET

2 - 6 p.m., Ramsay Park, 1301 Main Street, Watsonville Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley–El Mercado hosts a farmer’s market weekly at Ram-say Park. The goal is to decrease food insecurity and improve access to health promoting resources for community families.

Tuesdays through Aug. 29

LOW INTENSITY CONDITIONING & STRETCHING

9:15-10:15 a.m., Anna Jean Cummings Park, 461 Soquel San Jose Rd, Soquel Santa Cruz County Parks offers a new fitness class for active adults, low-intensity anaerobic conditioning & stretching Tuesdays at Anna Jean Cummings Park. Walk-ins are welcome. Register at scparks.com. Information: 454-7941.

DATED EVENTS

Wednesday May 17

LUNAFEST BENEFIT FOR WOMENCARE

7 p.m. (5:30 - 7 p.m. preshow reception), Del Mar Theater, 1124 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz Friends of WomenCARE announce the live showing of the 22nd Annual LunaFest Film Festival. A preshow reception features wines from Hallcrest and Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards. The virtual showing will be available May 17-20. This year, LunaFest features seven short films with a total running time of 95 minutes suitable for ages 13 and up. The event again supports the nonprofit WomenCARE, a safe haven where women with any type of cancer find mutual support, shared experiences, and open hearts.

For tickets, visit https://www.lunafest.org/screenings/ hybrid-friends-of-womencare-santa-cruz-ca-051723

COUNTY CAREER FAIR

4-7 p.m., Watsonville Civic Plaza Community Room 275 Main St. (4th floor)

The County of Santa Cruz will host the third annual County of Santa Cruz Career Fair at the Watsonville Civic Plaza Community Room.

The Career Fair offers residents of all skill levels a chance to discuss career opportunities with representatives from more than 20 departments, including Animal Services, Auditor-Controller-Treasurer-Tax Collector, District Attorney, Health Services and Human Services, Parks and Recreation, Probation, Public Works and more. Attendees will be able to learn how to get a job with the County.

Santa Cruz County offers competitive pay and benefits. To view open jobs, see https://santacruzcounty.us/Departments/ Personnel/AboutUs/GetaJob.aspx

Thursday May 18

ALICE YANG & CATHY CHOY

7-8:30 p.m. Capitola Public Library, 2005 Wharf Road

In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Santa Cruz Public Libraries present an opportunity to learn about the histories that make up the Asian and Pacific Islander Diaspora in the United States.

The Capitola Library event’s speakers will be UC Santa Cruz Professor of History Alice Yang and author Cathy Choy.

Choy, an award-winning Asian American historian and professor of ethnic studies at UC Berkeley, is the author of Asian American Histories of the United States (2022), which features themes of violence, erasure, and resistance in a nearly 200-year history of Asian migration, labor, and community formation in the US.

The book was awarded a 2022 Kirkus Star from Kirkus Reviews; named a Best of 2022 Nonfiction Book by Kirkus Reviews and Ms. Magazine; and featured in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s 2023 National Day of Racial Healing book list and the Texas Library Association’s 2023 Texas Topaz Reading List.

Yang is the oral history co-director of the Okinawan Memories Initiative and co-directs the Center for the Study of Pacific War Memories. She is completing a man-uscript on historical memories of Japanese American women’s activism between 1941 and 202, and she is preparing an exhibit on Japanese American women’s history with a grant from the California Civil Liberties Public Education Fund.

Friday May 19

CABRILLO NAME CHANGE TASK FORCE

Noon-1:30 p.m., Online Meeting

The Cabrillo College Name Selection Task Force will hold it’s last spring session scheduled meeting via zoom.

The meeting is not open to the public. Task Force members are trustees Adam Spickler and Christina Cuevas, student representative Krystal Buenrostro, and president Matt Wetstein. To communicate with them, see https://www.cabrillo.edu/ governing-board/name-exploration-subcommittee/ The college aims to resolve the name issue this year.

FREE FAMILY MOVIE NIGHT: LIGHTYEAR

7:30-10 p.m., Aptos Village County Park, 100 Aptos Creek Rd. Santa Cruz County Parks hosts family-friendly movie nights under the stars.

The upcoming movie at Aptos Village County Park is Lightyear Movies begin at dusk. Low back chairs, blankets and jackets recommended.

No alcohol, please. Come early and bring a picnic to enjoy!

Saturday May 20

VETS’ BOWLATHON

1 p.m., Boardwalk Bowl, 115 Cliff St., Santa Cruz Vets4Vets announces the Pat Pratt and Dennis Taku Memorial Tournament bowlathon at Boardwalk Bowl. Cost is a $15 donation to Vets4Vets.

Vets4Vets is a Santa Cruz nonprofit that is made up of local veterans and friends committed to assisting our brothers and sisters in need.

To RSVP, email Vets4Vets@Vets4VetsSantaCruz.org www.vets4vetssantacruz.org

GERBERA-N-GO

9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Kitayama Brothers Farms, 481 San Andreas Road, Watsonville Gerbera-N-Go is a drive-through flower sale at Kitayama Brothers Farms (next to Sunset State Beach).

John Laird

Alice Yang Cathy Choy

The bright, colorful flowers can be preordered at www.thatsmypark.org/collections through May 17.

Flowers will be available in crates of five plants each, featuring a mix of colors. Preordered crates will be $15 each. A limited number of day-of sales also may be offered for $20 per crate (cash only).

All proceeds benefit Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, supporting Kids2Parks, a program that helps ensure all children in the community have equal access to state park field trips.

This is the 13th year of the Kitayama Brothers Farms’ Gerbera Festival. The event was not held in 2020 due to the pandemic but was reimagined in 2021 as the wildly popular Gerbera-N-Go. Flowers have sold out the last two years, raising thousands of dollars for local state parks and beaches.

FISHING GEAR SWAP MEET

9 a.m.-1 p.m., Aptos Grange, 2555 Mar Vista Drive

The Santa Cruz Fly Fishing Club will have its annual swap meet, rain or shine, at the Aptos Grange parking lot.

Buy, sell, trade all things fishing and outdoor activities.

Open to the public, free admission. Vendor spaces free to club members, $10 fee to nonmembers. For info, call or text Jeff at 831-234-0033.

Tuesday May 23

MILITARY EQUIPMENT MEETING

6:30 to 7:30 p.m., Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, 5200 Soquel Ave.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office will host a public meeting at the headquarters community room to discuss the use of military equipment funding, acquisition, and use.

Sheriff’s Office representatives will facilitate the discussion and review military equipment as per AB481. Comments will be solicited from attendees when discussion concludes.

Written concerns or comments can be sent by May 22 to: Undersheriff Chris Clark, Sheriff’s Office, 5200 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, CA 95062 or by email at Chris.Clark@santacruzcounty.us

The AB481 policy is at https://www.scsheriff.com/ under the transparency tab and near the bottom. The sheriff is also accepting applications for his advisory team. See the website.

Wednesday May 24

2023 HEROES IN PREVENTION

5 p.m., Mayou Family Counseling Center, 411 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville

Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance will recognize the 2023 Heroes In Prevention during a ceremony at the Mayou Family Counseling Center.

Honorees are: Elsa Silva, Jesus Reyes, The Center for Farmworker Families, Joanne Martinez Sanchez, Joe Hernandez, and PVPSA’S very own Adriana Mata.

Sister Rosa Dolores of Casa Cultura will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement in Preven-tion Award.

All of them have demonstrated a passion for the empowerment of others and who have worked to make their community a better place.

Keynote speaker will be Mónica Morales, a local who is now Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency director.

RSVP to (831) 728-6476 or admin@pvpsa.org.

Thursday May 25

LAUNCHPAD JOB FAIR

6-8 p.m., Cocoanut Grove, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz Santa Cruz Works’ annual job fair and student business plan pitch competition event, Santa Cruz Launchpad, is back for its 6th year in a row!

The student business plan pitch competition with $50,000 in prizes is by invitation only, and the job fair open to the public.

Companies will offer hundreds of jobs ranging from internships to entry-level and seasoned professionals. Bring your resume, learn about a variety of companies, and their job opportunities.

Free parking with ticket validation.

To register your company to participate, see https:// www.eventbrite.com/e/santa-cruz-launchpad-2023tickets-616154222867

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

CSU ARTISTS OPEN NEW PACIFIC GROVE EXHIBIT

Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History, 165 Forest Ave. The Pacific Grove Museum will open the 2023 Illustrating Nature exhibit with the Science Illustration Program at CSU Monterey Bay and the Arts Council for Monterey County, showcasing the works of each year’s talented graduates.

The Museum exhibit opens on Friday, May 19 with a special free opening reception from 6-8 p.m. and will run through Sunday, June 18.

Student works will be presented in various mediums and formats including hanging artwork and nature journals.

There will be opportunities to purchase student works.

Classes will be taught in June by program students and alums.

Pacific Grove Museum is open 10 am – 4 pm, Wednesday –Sunday. See www.pgmuseum.org for more information.

for the recorded class. Call (831)624-4955 or email: cynthia-pilgrimsway@gmail.com

Friday June 2

‘SENIOR PROM’ NIGHT

5-7 p.m. Aptos Village Park, 100 Aptos Creek Rd. Santa Cruz County Parks hosts “Senior Prom Night” for active adults age 50+ at Aptos Village Park.

Enjoy the evening with friends, music, snacks and drinks. A corsage and/or boutonniere will be provided to all guests.

Price: $7 signup online or $10 at the door.

Saturday June 3

BUILDING FOR GENERATIONS WALK

10 a.m., Natural Bridges parking lot, 2531 W Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz Bouilding for Generations announces the 2023 Fundraising Walk at 10 a.m. Satur-day, June 3 at Natural Bridges parking lot, 2531 W Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, to the lighthouse. Lunch and raffle ticket included with $30 donation.

Family Music Night

5:30 to 6:30 p.m., MacQuiddy Elementary, 330 Martinelli St, Watsonville MacQuiddy Elementary will host the second annual Family Music Night, showcasing student musical talent. Performers include El Sistema. https://www.elsistemasantacruz.org

Thursday June 1

FOOT CLINIC WITH DOMINI ANNE

6-7:30 p.m., Pilgrim’s Way, Dolores Street, between Fifth and Sixth avenues, Carmel

The Pilgrim’s Way Community Bookstore & Secret Garden will host “We Will, We Will, Walk You,” a 90-minute foot clinic featuring movement expert Domini Anne.

This clinic provides tools to reduce foot pain, including sources such as bunions, plantar fasciitis, and flat feet, and focuses on holistic activation of the sole of the foot.

Domini Anne will guide attendees through simple exercises that enhance aware-ness and alignment, and restore your connection with the earth. By restoring your connection with the earth, you will feel more grounded and balanced, which will help improve your overall well-being. Spaces are limited for in-person participants, so register ASAP. Price is $35 for in-person class or $25

The special project for 2023 is to raise the money to put in the doors and windows at what will be the first adult youth living facility in Arusha, Tanzania. Currently supporters have raised $1,500 toward a matching grant of $7,500.

You can participate by walking and collecting donations from others or donating directly to help fund our initiatives. Your generous donations over the holidays have made it possible to put on the roof!

Sunday June 4

FIREWISE COMMUNITY EDUCATION

1:30-4:30 p.m., Temple Beth El Grounds, 3055 Porter Gulch Road, Aptos FireWise neighborhoods — Viewpoint, CathedralRedwood, North Trout Gulch-Fern Flat, and Porter Gulch — have organized a FireWise community education event outside at Temple Beth El. Program begins at 2 p.m. Topics are:

• Preparing for 1st Responders

• Home Hardening Concepts

Sandwich or vegetarian option at Steamers across from Lighthouse included with $30 donation plus 1 free raffle ticket.

Monday June 5

FORUM ON WHY POLICY MATTERS

6:30 p.m., Online Forum

WILDR announce a forum focusing on Why Policy Matters: the power of public service

This forum is for anyone who wants to see and support more women and diverse representatives in elected, appointed, or community service to impact policy such as housing, climate action, and education. Register at: https://bit.ly/WILDR060523

A list of speakers will be out soon. For more info, visit wildrsantacruz.com.

Saturday June 10

Sunday June 11

CAPITOLA ROD & CUSTOM CLASSIC CAR SHOW

Parade begins Saturday Morning, 8:30 a.m. at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

The 16th Annual Capitola Rod and Custom Classic Car Show is hosted by the Capitola Public Safety & Community Service Foundation.

Watch these classic beauties cruise the coastline Saturday morning from the Boardwalk to Capitola.

Enjoy a weekend filled with awesome cars, great music, charming shops, restaurants for every taste, and family fun at the beach.

Info: www.capitolafoundation.com/car-show or email info@ capitolafoundation.com n

• Situational Awareness

• Resource Conservation District

• Home and Fire Insurance

• Email questions to nlyellin@comcast.net.

Wildfire! Kameika & Joey

by Misty Knightly, who was living on a two-lane road in the Santa Cruz Mountains during the 2020 wildfire season and witnessed the devastating loss. The 70-page book is $35 at mistyknightly.com. A part of net profits will be donated to the Santa Clara County FireSafe Council. Illustration by Ira Baykovska

Prepare

County Proposed Budget Awaits $100 Million from Feds

By Zach Friend, Supervisor, Second District

The Board of Supervisors will be considering the annual budget at a set of upcoming budget hearings. While there were some positive indicators with revenues recovering from the pandemic impacts, some challenges still remain.

The Proposed 2023-24 Budget is based on the County’s adopted six-year strategic plan for 2018-24 and the proposed twoyear operational plan for 2023-25.

The proposed budget continues an approach that has allowed the County to achieve a AAA bond rating (due to strong reserves and other fiscal responsibility measures). Here is an overview of the proposed budget and how you can get involved in budget hearings.

Key Elements

The$1.104 billion proposed budget includes a balanced $731.5 million General Fund that prioritizes sustaining existing commitments and capacity with modest targeted investments to improve services to the community.

Overall, General Fund core revenues have recovered from significant pandemic impacts. The big three revenue streams, Property Tax, Sales Tax and Transient Occupancy Tax (hotel/vacation rental) have all increased.

However, despite a balanced budget, there are significant challenges (from deferred maintenance to disaster recovery) that face the County.

Local roads and facilities have more than $300 million in deferred maintenance, managing the County’s cash flow while the County waits on up to $100 million in reimbursements from the federal government for past and current disaster response, continued damages and recovery costs, allocating funds for behavioral health, legal and other supportive

services to implement state mandates including CARE Court, and supporting the County’s share of approximately $30 million needed to finance next generation radio emergency communication systems used by our first responders.

Key Investments

The Budget maintains current services and makes some modest investments in improved services (including some State-mandated programs). Here are a few of the investments for the coming year:

• Completing the new South County Government Center in Watsonville

• Completing Juvenile Hall improvements

• Developing a new Children’s Crisis Center (behavioral health)

• Open new Project Homekey permanent supportive housing

• Restore the Sheriff’s Recovery Center

• Fully reopen Simpkins Family Swim Center

• Implement CalAIM (California’s transformation of the Medi-Cal system)

• A new countywide emergency alert system

• Planning for the continuation of the Rail Trail

• Design of a new Freedom Campus Health Care Center

• Completion of the Live Oak Library Annex and Aptos Library

• A Master Plan on Aging

• Increases in inmate medical and behavioral health care

• Completion of a new DNA laboratory to reduce case processing times.

Property Tax Revenue

As part of the budget presentation, information was shared regarding property tax revenues and how much stays locally. We often receive questions about property taxes (given the high amounts people pay on

local assessed value) and how much of your property tax dollar stays locally.

Due to a Prop. 13 formula, the County of Santa Cruz retains some of the lowest amounts of property taxes of any other County in the state. Only 13% of your property tax dollars end up back with County government to fund our local services.

On average, this equates to $463 of property tax dollars per resident.

By comparison, Santa Clara County (under the Prop. 13 formula) retains $10,831 of property tax dollars per resident - San Mateo County about $4,500 and Napa County about $4,000. Approximately 50% of residents live in the unincorporated county (compared to about 4.5% or so in Santa Clara County).

This low recovery amount has significant impacts on how the County provides services.

As you can imagine, counties that are able to retain higher amounts under their Prop. 13 formula have more money available for roads and services without needing new funding streams to backfill these needs.

If the Prop. 13 formula were to change in the state at some point in the future, unincorporated residents could see significant improvements to services and infrastructure without increased taxes -- by simply having more of your local property tax dollars stay with local County government. As Prop. 13 was approved by voters as a state constitutional amendment, any changes to the formulation and distribution cannot occur at the local level.

Sales Tax

Similar to property tax, the County receives a lower share of sales tax than local cities in our County or other counties in the region. Half of the population lives in the unincorporated county but the County

While it is common that the unincorporated area of a county does not contain the same number of commercial or brick and mortar zones as local cities, our County has less sales activity than peers across the State.

For example, Santa Cruz County receives about $89 of sales tax per-resident while Napa and San Mateo counties receive well over $400 per-resident. Local cities in our county average over $275 per-resident. Further exaggerating this underfunding is that all online sales taxes are distributed to each taxing entity based on their proportional share of sales tax in their district, and not based on where the on-line shoppers live.

Until there are more comprehensive sales tax reforms, the County will not fully benefit from the online sales from the 50.5% of residents who live in the unincorporated area.

Budget Hearings

The County will begin budget hearings on May 30.

There are multiple ways to participate - if you’d like to attend in person, the meetings will be May 30 and May 31 at 9 a.m., and June 13 at 1:30 p.m. at the County Government Center at 701 Ocean St. in the Board of Supervisors Chambers. If preferred, you can also attend remotely (via Zoom) and the information for the login can be found before the meeting at www. santacruzcounty.us.

SCCAS Featured Pet

Thanks to Donors

Pepsi and His Guinea Pig Friends!

This week our Pet of the Week is Pepsi and his Guinea Pig Friends! Pepsi is a sweet intact Male, gold and yellow Guinea pig who has been at the Shelter for a few months. He is a single guinea pig who is looking for a loving home. This last weekend he went to an adoption event at a local brewery and he interacted with people of all ages! Pepsi is one of our small animals here at SCCAS and he has a whole group of friends- so if he doesn’t end up being your tiny soulmate, maybe another one of our guinea pigs will.

• Pepsi — Don’t mistake his shyness as being unsociable! This spunky critter has an attitude and isn’t afraid to show you who’s the boss once he warms ups to ya.

• Anna & Elsa — Like the Disney sisters, Anna is outgoing, can be a chatterbox and always looking for an adventure. While Elsa is more shy than her sister, with her sister’s lead, she eventually warms up to strangers.

• Ollie & Spencer — Ollie gains confidence through encouragements such as food and treats. On the other hand, Spencer gains weight by stealing his brother’s food. Their favorite pastimes are to snack and nap.

• Coffee & Josie — Furry potatoes who love head rubs, cheek rubs, chin rubs or rubs in general!

Guinea pigs can be delightful pets and love snacks and pets! Just like any other animal they need tender loving care and attention, so if you are looking for a fun tiny friend to hang out with you at home come and meet Pepsi and his buddies!

Right now the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter is full of adoptable animals. Fostering animals is an awesome way to improve a Shelter animal’s life and fill your home with love and fun!

If you are interested in fostering any kind of animal please email jillian. ganley@santacruzcounty.us n

•••

Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter’s full-service, open-admission shelter: 1001 Rodriguez St., Santa Cruz, 95062

Hours: Daily 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. • Website: www.scanimalshelter.org

SCCAS Main line: 831-454-7200. Animal Control: 831-454-7227. After-Hours Emergency: 831-471-1182 • After Hours: jillian.ganley@santacruzcounty.us

“Budget” from page 30

Additionally, you are welcome to send me your thoughts or you can send an email to the entire Board of Supervisors at BoardOfSupervisors@ santacruzcounty.us

Where can you view the Budget?

The County has a very interactive online budget tool to allow you to see a department-by-department breakdown of the budget or to simply read an overview of the proposed budget. Here is the link: https://www.santacruzcounty.us/VisionSantaCruz/Budget. aspx. n

•••

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.

Jail Electronics Upgrade to Begin

This month, Santa Cruz County Main Jail will begin a significant electronics system upgrade that will take a year to complete.

To accomplish the work, the Sheriff’s Office will reopen the Blaine Street Women’s Correctional Facility.

In September 2021, the Sheriff’s Office made the difficult decision to close the Blaine Street facility due to staffing levels.

“We recognize the valuable impact this facility has with our incarcerated women,” Lt. Patrick Dimick reported. “We are hoping with increased staffing over the next year, we can continue to keep this facility open beyond the project completion date.” n

Dr. Michelle Rodriguez (left), superintendent of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and champion of the Emeril Culinary Garden and Teaching Kitchen at Starlight Elementary

School talks about the impact on student learning at a spring donor event. Reiter Affiliated Companies and Martinelli’s donated berries and sparkling juice for the guests.