Capitola Soquel Times: March 2024

By Sho-Li Cheng

One day in April, 1968, I was invited out by a Taiwanese man that was introduced to me by one of my girlfriends who was seriously trying to be my matchmaker.

That man must have been desperate to get married. In this

foreign land during the 1960s, it was tough for a Taiwanese man to meet a Taiwanese girl. The ratio of men to women who came to study in the U.S. was out of proportion, maybe less than ten to one. ... continues on page 4

Soquel Teens Win First in League

Cover A Love Story, By Sho-Li Cheng

Community News

5 Seven Single Moms Win Live Your Dream Awards

6 Capitola’s Wharf House A Landmark Lost, By Jondi Gumz

9 Gayle Ortiz Joins Jr. Achievement Hall of Fame: Class includes Sandi Eason, Morty Cohen, and Tom Gray

10 Construction Starts on Children’s Crisis Center

12 BCycle E-Bike Coming in March to Capitola • Good Friday Paddle Out: Capitola Beach Esplanade • Police Chief’s Advisory Committee to Debut

13 Capitola-Soquel Chamber To Honor Five Shining Stars & Local Legends

15 Chop Suey Book Signing

17 New Leaders for County Fair Board

19 Community Bridges Offers to Purchase Live Oak Senior Center: School District Eyes Site for Educator Housing, By Jondi Gumz

20 How’s Your PG&E Bill? Email Us Your Opinions

21 Veterans History Project, Series for Teachers, Launches March 19

31 International Recognition

Local Sports

7 Soquel Teens Win First in League, By Jondi Gumz

20 SCCAL All League Girls Soccer

National News

18 Members of Congress: Investigate Uyghur Forced Labor for Seafood

California News

22 AG: Quest Diagnostics to Pay Nearly $5 Million To Settle Dumping Case

Monthly Horoscope • Page 26 – Pisces — Dreams, Radiance, Veils & the Body Electric, By Risa D’Angeles Community Calendar • Arts & Entertainment – Pages 28, 29

Featured Columnists

8 My Life as a Waitress, By Joe Ortiz

22 California Outdoors: Salmon Carcasses, Flocks of Birds, Bears

23 Camp Capitola’s 150th Anniversary: Little City Under Canvas, By Deborah Osterberg

24 Me First! Passengers Cheat to Board Plane Faster, By Christopher Elliott

25 Empowering the Next Generation of Water Professionals, By Rebecca Gold Rubin

30 New Brighton Middle School Field Renovation A Priority, By Scott J. Turnbull, Superintendent, Soquel Union Elementary School District

SCCAS Featured Pet • Page 31

publisher

Patrice Edwards editor

Jondi Gumz

contributing writers

Sho-Li Cheng, Jondi Gumz, Risa D’Angeles, Joe Ortiz, Deborah Osterberg, Christopher Elliott, Rebecca Gold Rubin, Scott J. Turnbull layout

Michael Oppenheimer graphic artists

COVER STORY

note: Sho-li Cheng, a retired registered nurse in her 80s who lives in Capitola, has written a memoir, “Chop Suey,” a collection of stories about her life — born into poverty in a farming family in Taiwan, carrying her baby sister on her back to earn a warm chicken drumstick, wanting to be a city girl with an education, training in London to become a midwife and, coming to the U.S. to work, romance in frosty Chicago, where she found someone from Taiwan — a future engineer — to love and marry, bearing two children (unplanned, she says) and working part-time while raising them, caring for her husband who began living with dementia in 2015 after a stroke, and taking advantage of the GriefShare support group at Twin Lakes Church in Aptos after her husband died in 2021. Here is the chapter about how she got married in 1969.

“Wedding Story” from page 1

Women were way outnumbered by men because the conservative society of Taiwan at that time was not ready to open the doors for women to go abroad.

photography

Michael Oppenheimer website

Michael Oppenheimer, Camisa Composti

Michael Oppenheimer, Ward Austin production coordinator

Camisa Composti media consultants

Teri Huckobey, Brooke Valentine, Danielle Paul office coordinator

Cathe Race distribution

A great majority of Taiwanese men were shy of dating local American women, and mail-order brides or overseas matchmaking was an alternative and a trend.

I was not at all interested in this man. He was short and not handsome and I had nothing to do with his background. His pushy and aggressive manner made me want to back out of the deal. Without my agreement, he had arranged to take me to one of his friend’s apartments for a lunch party.

With my wimpy personality and fear of hurting someone’s feelings, I couldn’t say no to the poor guy. So I went unwillingly to the party with him, not realizing it would be a bunch of bachelors, about 10 of them filling the humble accommodation.

him soon, and I was the only Taiwanese girl he had encountered. He thought it would be great for her to meet a girl who also came from Taiwan. I was delighted with his invitation even though I didn’t know what bowling was.

The bowling balls were heavy and strange; it took a special technique to hold it with three fingers. It was not an easy task to hold and throw it out of my hand and let it roll onto the straight lane to hit the pins.

One of the guys I met at the lunch party, the one who had a genuine smile, approached me and introduced himself. His name was I-ming Cheng. I thought it was weird; after all, hadn’t we met before? He was very polite and tried to show me how to hold the ball and how to bowl in the proper way. I wouldn’t say I was feeling a crush on him, but I had a very strange feeling I liked him.

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When we got there I saw I was the only girl. I felt uneasy and I was not happy about the situation. All of them were staring at me with a strange look; a girl showing up must have been a big surprise to them. They all looked scholastic but aloof, except one who was tall, nice-looking, and had a mysteriously warm smile as he was handling some fresh green beans. He was attractive but I didn’t have a crush or any emotional attachment to him.

I was very uncomfortable the whole time I was eating the food that was prepared by the guys. The lunch was not fancy or appealing;

it was nothing special, but it was homemade and tasted okay: Fried rice, stir-fried string beans with garlic, broccoli beef, stewed pork belly, and braised chicken wings. I could not interact with the guys because all they talked about was engineering stuff that I didn’t understand at all. The gathering was boring and I was glad when it was over, and I went back to my place after about two hours.

A few days later Mr. Su, the host of the lunch party, gave me a call. He asked if I could join him and two of his friends to go bowling. His fiancée was coming from Taiwan to join

I had a good time bowling although I didn’t do well, and we had some casual conversations during the game. It was so nice of him to say that if I was interested in bowling again to please let him know, and he gave me his telephone number. I replied to him with a grateful gesture. I was not good at bowling, but I didn’t mind the thought of getting back to the alley again some day. He offered me a ride home. I was glad I had a good time on the new adventure.

Days passed with images of I-ming dwelling in my head.

I could not resist and picked up the phone to convey my appreciation for his kindness in teaching me to bowl and for bringing me home. He laughed loudly, and very politely said it was nothing.

It must’ve been God’s will; he called and asked me to go out for dinner the next weekend. I had never had a boyfriend in my life. I did have some admiration from a few boys, but I didn’t go on dates with them as I assumed when you go out on a date with someone, it means you have an obligation to marry him. I thought it would be a good time to try dating since he seemed to be a decent man, and my old Taiwanese culture no longer dominated my life in Chicago, although I had a pressure buried in me that I didn’t want to be an old maid.

I-ming came to pick me up and we went to a humble Korean restaurant for dinner. The dinner was spicy and delicious and affordable. He was not a talkative man, and it seemed like he was naive and lacked experience in socializing with girls. We had a boring evening. When he took me back to my place, I felt like I was coming home from work, like it was nothing special.

Editor’s

Sho-Li in 1962, a young registered nurse.

Spring 2022 — six months after her husband died — Sho-Li awaits a new life with peace, good health, happiness and hope.

Bill Pooley, Erik Long

Seven Single Moms Win Live Your Dream Awards

Soroptimist International of Capitolaby-the-Sea has selected seven single mothers to win their 2024 Live Your Dream awards, to be presented March 12.

Each will receive a cash award they can use for anything enabling them to complete their education, including rent, medical bills, child care and car repairs.

“We’re very excited to be able to increase the number of Live Your Dream awards from the five we gave last year to seven,” said Laura Knapp, Live Your Dream program chair. “Our volunteer Club members and some very generous donors responded to our fundraising efforts and made this possible for these deserving women.”

The winners are:

Serena McCallister, 26, of Santa Cruz is awarded the Gwyn Larson Humanitarian Award in memory of a beloved and longserving member. This award is given to a student pursuing a human services career path and is dedicated to helping others. McCallister is a single mother of one child who has struggled with medical disorders and is now on a path to recovery. Her primary focus currently is a substance use disorder counseling certificate.

“This program is a very direct path to being able to work in the community and help these people,” she wrote. “As soon as I finish this certification, it will open many doors into the field of my dreams.”

Lenada Hernandez , 32, of Santa Cruz is a single mother of one child who experienced homelessness for many years. Her goal is to work with at-risk youth and those recovering from addiction. She is studying psychology and communication to better understand how to actively listen.

“I’ve learned if a person is not feeling seen or heard, they will shut down and potentially stop seeking help,” she said.

Victoria Van Voorst, 32, of Capitola is a single mother with one child who is studying computer applications business technology. She has a Medical Front Office certification and believes further studies will increase her opportunities for long-term employment.

“My end goal is a permanent position in a doctors’ office setting,” she said. “This work will give my family the stability we need

while also being realistic and meaningful to me personally.”

Bianca Lindahl, 24, of Aptos, has one child and is studying for a degree in psychology. She has been interested in psychology as a career path since she was 16. She plans to complete a master’s degree in order to open her own practice.

“My biggest career goal is to become a clinical psychologist,” she said. “On top of my interests in the cognitive aspects of the human mind, I also carry a lot of love for people and helping them is very fulfilling to me.”

Hailey Gregory, 32, of Aptos, has one child and is pursuing a degree in criminal justice. She has dreamed of going to college from a young age, but her single mother with three children meant the family lived paycheck to paycheck. When she was 14, their dire financial circumstances required her to begin working fulltime. After marrying young, having a child and then getting divorced, her educational dreams seemed even further away.

During the pandemic, she lost her job and felt the panic of not being able to make ends meet. But her young daughter inspired her to pursue her educational dream. She took the opportunity to enroll in criminal justice classes, which has opened her eyes to many of the problems in policing.

“My hopes for myself are to be part of the change to help make the world a better, safer place for the generations to come,” she wrote. “I hope to work in the criminal justice system and to help rebuild and reform.”

Marjorie Jackson, 41, of Aptos, has a son and is studying for a bachelor’s degree in human services. She is motivated by the fact that she and her family have experienced trauma, poverty and homelessness.

“My education is putting me on the right path for success in my desired field, by teaching me how to work with survivors and clients,” she wrote.

“Live Your Dream” page 11

Serena McCallister

Lenada Hernandez

Hailey Gregory

Marjorie Jackson

Bianca Lindahl

Capitola’s Wharf House A Landmark Lost

By Jondi Gumz

or 35 years, Willie Case has owned

FWharf House restaurant at the end of Capitola’s historic wharf. And now the building he’s leased from the city for all those years has been deemed a total loss due to an epic storm in January 2023 that broke the wharf in two and made it impossible for him to check the conditions – except for once by boat.

Storms in December created setbacks for the city, which last September began repairs that include widening with Cushman Contracting. Recently a restroom — a new amenity — arrvied via ship from New Zealand.

The broken midspan section of the wharf has been repaired, according to Jessica Kahn, director of public works, as crews worked their way back from the land to the wharf’s seaward end.

In the December storm, the seaward wall completely caved in and took part of the foundation with it.

“We plan on moving forward with the demolition,” Kahn told the City Council on Feb. 8.

The choices are major demolition or demolition — to be determined.

Willie Case has seen the Wharf House three times since the first storm, once by boat, twice with an insurance adjuster.

He had insurance on his business, but because the damage was due to Mother Nature, “I have no coverage,” he said. “All the exclusions were clearly stated.”

The Wharf House, which gained popularity with Don McCaslin’s jazz band Warmth and then more recently blues, was full of nautical antiques collected by Case over the decades.

That’s one thing he’s concerned about. He wants to retrieve his property.

He also has 16 refrigerators he’d like to repurpose, perhaps for another site.

He admits he’s “an old dude,” but he doesn’t want to retire — he’s rather keep on doing what he loves.

If there’s a chance the Wharf House building could be rebuilt, he wants in.

The city hosted a well-attended meeting on Feb. 20 to update residents on the Wharf, which being built in 1857 is a beloved local landmark.

The Boat & Bait Shop, located in an old building at the end of the wharf, is red tagged. The foundation is damaged, there are issue with hazardous materials and it’s not to code, Kahn said.

“I don’t want to be forgotten,” he said. “There’s nothing more unique. … We’re a unique community. There has to be special consideration.”

The City Council scheduled a special meeting for Feb. 27 to approve increasing Cushman’s Wharf contract up to $1.713 million for a total of $10,027,000 and to amend the 2023-24 budget to allocate up to $564,000 to cover expenses that were not anticipated.

For the agenda, see www.capitola.org n

Soquel Teens Win First in League

By Jondi Gumz

Two Soquel High juniors, Cheryl Brightfield and Jack Snyder, placed first in the Santa Cruz Scholastic Surf League individual championships Feb. 3 at The Hook.

Cheryl was stoked to finish first in the shortboard, as she’s new to it, and second in the longboard.

Jack was first in the longboard, taking first in that contest for the third straight year.

Competitors come from Aptos High, Santa Cruz High, Harbor High, Half Moon Bay, Marin Tamalpais and St. Ignatius.

Cheryl, 17, is a junior who’s been on the surf team for two

years. She lives in Capitola, which puts her close to the ocean, and she devotes about 10 hours a week surfing.

Jack, 16, lives in Soquel, about 15 minutes from his favorite surf spot at Pleasure Point where he grew up longboarding with his dad, trainer and KPIG surf reporter Rocky Snyder. Jack spends about 15 hours a week surfing: “It is the best time.”

Each earned a wooden plaque for their accomplishment.

Capitola-Soquel Times interviewed Cheryl and Jack.

Here is Cheryl interview:

Is this your best finish in the scholastic league?

Definitely. I’ve gotten to finals multiple times but I’ve never finished first.

What helped you place first?

I caught one wave and did a single turn that scored 8.9 (the top score is 10). Probably wave selection, how they would line up, and months of practice.

My best scores were 8.9 + 7.7 for a total of 16.6.

The second place was 8.1 + 6.47 for 14.57.

(Editor’s note: Unlike ice skating, where all skaters compete on the same ice, ocean conditions vary for each surfer.)

When did you start surfing?

Three years ago in Capitola. My sister introduced me. What helped you get to where you are now?

Consistency for sure, knowing the ocean. Having friends to surf with makes it a lot more fun.

The surf team practices every Wednesday from 4:30 to 6 but most kids stay late or go before.

I’m new at shortboard. I honed in on it in the past month.

From a House to a Home

Your favorite shortboard?

I only have one, Sharp Eye #77 model.

Your longboard?

Bueno Life made by Bing in Encinitas.

What are your post-high school plans?

I’m looking into a 4-year college. I have a 4.0 gradepoint which is 4.5 weighted. I’d like to be near the ocean, so UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, or UC Santa Barbara, which has a surfing team. So does SLO. UC Santa Barbara is so gorgeous, I walked through it with my mom. One of my friend’s older sisters competed to get on the UCSB surfing team and she made it.

“Surfing Teens” page 11

Jack Snyder and Cheryl Brightfield

Cheryl Brightfield

FEATURED COLUMNIST

My Life as a Waitress

Previous episode: After Dad got kicked out of the house, he convinced Mom to let him take me to Las Vegas, where he taught me how to lie about the cauliflower he found on the road.

After working her tail off for years as a waitress at a truck stop called Henry’s Café — where Mom had learned how to mesmerize oil riggers, boat builders, and longshoremen with a hamburger and a bottle of Pabst Blue Ribbon beer — it finally gave her the confidence and extra money to open her own place.

Dad was finally gone, and we’d only heard from him sporadically for a long time. So, Mom didn’t have to worry about him putting his hand in the till or grabbing free beers every ten minutes. She opened a twelve-stool burger hut she called Ann’s Café, located in a ramshackle wooden building with hundreds of windows and bright yellow, peeling paint.

The café stood on the corner of “B” and Broad Streets, right in the bowels of the L.A. Harbor, where the rank aroma of the fish canneries mixed with the burnt smell of copra on ships arriving from South America. Ann’s Café was nestled in among the boatyards that built big Ferro-cement hulls, with a clear view of the San Pedro hills to the Southwest.

As Dad had said with sour grapes when Mom told him about her idea for the café, it was “sink or swim” for us and Mom couldn’t afford to hire extra help, so both Laura and I became Mom’s crew. We all quietly knew it was better to try and survive on our own than have Dad around to drag us down. Still, it was a struggle. There was no such thing as wages; even the tips went to Mom and “the family.” We were in this thing together.

I worked at Ann’s Café every summer day after playing baseball down at Harbor Park. After the games, I would slip my baseball glove over the handlebar of my bike and pedal furiously for twenty minutes to get to work, arriving at the café sweaty and out of breath just before lunch.

In the beginning, Mom taught me general chores, like how to sweep and mop. I chopped onions and soaked the beans for chili. Chili was Mom’s specialty. I don’t think my mother had even heard of chili ‘n’ beans when we left New York for California six years earlier. Now she was the chili queen of the L.A. Harbor.

After the customers were gone, I cleared plates and wipe counters, and after that I’d wash dishes. The job I hated most came at the end of the day. The dirty dishrag routine. We had several buckets filled with Clorox and suds, and we’d wring the rags out and pass them from bucket to bucket before we finally rinsed them clean, then hang them over the sink to dry.

Although I wore Levi’s, dusty sneakers,

and always arrived wearing my baseball cap, Mom had me trained to tuck in my shirt and slick down my hair. When I finally learned not to scratch my nose and wipe my mouth and I started to gain a little confidence, Mom let me wait on customers.

But before the lunch rush, I made the “set ups” for the burgers. In a little assembly line we created to make Mom’s orders go smoothly, I’d layer the lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle in neat little stacks on her worktable. I got them all lined up in rows so that, when the rush came, all Mom had to do was scoop them onto the spatula and slide them onto the grilled burger and bun.

As the guys started coming in, I took their orders and handed them back over the partition between the café and kitchen to Mom. Joking with all those “galoots,” as

JMom would call them, was the hardest part. But only because I didn’t know them.

I was shy to strangers, but with anyone I’d gotten to know even halfway, I’d try out my imitation-Jerry Lewis routine. Mom didn’t enjoy these fits of self-expression. She never knew when I’d crawl back into my shell if some stranger said “boo” to me the wrong way.

These guys were hard to figure. They didn’t eat spaghetti very often. They didn’t know what a Chocolate Egg Cream was. They called soda “pop.” They didn’t call coffee “black coffee or brown coffee” like we did in New York. They just called it mud.

After getting to know their habits—and lingo—I got loose enough to jive with them. But it backfired. Now that I started playing along, kibbitzing about work, and joking

Joe Ortiz Memoir: Episodes & Recipes

oe Ortiz’s memoir, Pastina — My Father’s Misfortune, My Mother’s Good Soup, became the framework for the musical Escaping Queens, which ran at Cabrillo Stage in 2012 and 2013.

Since 2022, the Capitola Soquel Times is the exclusive publication of various episodes from the book — including a recipe that helps shape each installment. You may have read one of the pieces in the Times a few months ago entitled, “Pastina, Food for the Soul — The Night Freddie the Bookie Showed Up with the Gun.”

The idea of weaving anecdotes about food with an ongoing narrative came to Joe after reading Heartburn by Nora Ephron.

“Using recipe descriptions to help tell a story seemed the perfect way to weave the angst of a father’s chaotic life with the salvation of a mother’s cooking,” Ortiz explains. “For me, the soothing aromas and descriptions of my mom’s food became the salve to assuage my father’s abusive actions, and the ironic humor of it all helped to dull the pain.” n

By Joe Ortiz

about food, they started to shove the ribbing right back at me.

One day a guy named Harry from EtsHoken Electrical next door came in and said, “You’re a pretty good waitress, kid.” Everybody laughed.

It was what my mother was afraid of — me going undercover and becoming worthless to her. I fought it for a few days, but when I realized that their jokes just got worse, I stopped complaining and started to play along. And as Dad would have said, “Ya gotta do something to change ya luck.” So, I started saying things like, “Waitress, another pop please.” Or “Hey Toots, how about another cup ‘a mud?”

Whether I’d make it as a seasoned waitress or not, I couldn’t tell. I was still just a 12-year-old kid working in a lunch hut, pushing greasy burgers at gruff and sweaty longshoremen who wanted their food dished up as raunchy as they were. n

••• Chocolate Egg Cream

Nobody made this in California when we arrived, so we were lucky to get it whenever there was a bottle of seltzer (carbonated water) around. (Not often.)

This recipe uses bottled carbonated water, but, of course, it’s so much better when using a high-pressure seltzer bottle, if you can find one. Some modern, replicated versions add whipped cream and a cherry on top but those amenities are an affront to the drink’s humble Brooklyn heritage.

2 Tablespoons of Hershey’s chocolate syrup

¼ Cup evaporated milk, or heavy cream Carbonated soda water

If possible, use a Coca-Cola style (bellshaped) glass. In the bottom of the glass, put the chocolate syrup. Then add the evaporated milk or heavy cream. Stir to combine.

Then rapidly pour the cold carbonated water into the glass, while stirring with a long spoon.

Serve immediately.

Newly remodeled Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria is reopened at 504 Bay Ave., Capitola, with all the entrees, salads, and baked goods that you know and love.

Gayle Ortiz Joins Jr. Achievement Hall of Fame

Class includes Sandi Eason, Morty Cohen, and Tom Gray

On Jan. 26, more than 200 people attended Junior Achievement of Northern California’s 19th annual Monterey Bay Business Hall of Fame at the Inn at Spanish Bay, Pebble Beach, honoring Morty Cohen, Sandi Eason, Tom Gray and Gayle Ortiz.

Honorees are selected based on accomplishments in business excellence, courageous thinking and actions, vision and innovation, inspirational leadership, and philanthropy.

Erin Clark, co-anchor of KSBW-TV, was emcee.

Meet the honorees:

Gayle Ortiz, co-founder and co-owner, Gayle’s Bakery & Rosticceria (Capitola) She learned the art of baking while working in the restaurant business in Santa Cruz. After studying with mentors in the San Francisco Bay Area and learning from master bakers in Europe, she began a home-based croissant business in the 1970s.

In 1978, she and her husband Joe decided to open a small bakery nestled above the quaint little village of Capitola.

It began with 800 square feet, serving 10 items. Five years later, the Rosticceria, an

Italian deli with a beautiful rotisserie was added. Today, Gayle’s Bakery is a thriving 10,000-square-foot food emporium with two successful cookbooks and 180 employees.

It is a landmark business and community

hub, having served generations of Capitola community members and visitors. Gayle is a community leader in Capitola, having served on the board for the Capitola Historical Museum, the Planning Commission, and the Capitola

City Council (including a term as mayor). She played a vital role in raising the funds for the beautiful new Capitola Branch Library.

As campaign chair, her efforts secured more than $500,000 needed to complete the project. She has supported the Community Foundation for Santa Cruz County, Friends of the Foundation Fund.

She lives in Capitola with her husband and business partner, Joe.

Morty Cohen — founder and CEO, SunRidge Farms (Royal Oaks)

He grew up in New Mexico. From the age of 5 and through his high school years, he worked in his family’s retail drug store chain business, where he first developed an interest in business and entrepreneurship.

The seeds of SunRidge Farms were sown in the early 80s, while Mr. Cohen worked as manager at Staff of Life, a natural foods retailer in Santa Cruz. He lived on and co-owned an organic fruit farm, selling produce throughout the country. In 1982, Mr. Cohen co-founded an organic and natural food distributing company named Falcon Trading Company, Inc.

“Business Hall of Fame” page 10

Healing the heart. With heart.

Your heart might be something you’ve always taken for granted. But it’s the whole reason we’re here. Dignity Health offers nationally recognized cardiac care to the Greater Monterey Bay area, bringing not only clinical expertise, but a passion to heal. We are renowned for our advanced diagnostics, treatment options and comprehensive rehabilitation services. From routine checkups to lifesaving procedures, our team has the expertise and the dedication to care for your heart—and the person around it. Learn more about our innovative services at DignityHealth.org/DominicanHearts

Photo Credit: Tatiana Scher Photography, Carmel

From Left: Gayle Ortiz, Tom Gray, Sandi Eason, and Morty Cohen

Construction Starts on Children’s Crisis Center

On Feb. 20, the County of Santa Cruz began interior demolition at 5300 Soquel Ave. in Live Oak, the first step to re-imagine the building to create its first Children’s Crisis Center.

Remodeling is anticipated to begin in May, with completion projected for the end of 2024.

The two-story office building across from the Sheriff’s Office will have eight chairs for youth facing mental health crisis, providing 24/7 support. Currently youth are referred to facilities outside the county, a burden for parents to visit.

On the second floor, the Children’s Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Program will offer a home-like setting with intensive care and treatment for up to14 days.

“Business Hall of Fame” from page 9

The business was launched from his home garage, using the family station wagon for deliveries to stores throughout the Bay Area. In 1985, he created the brand SunRidge Farms, and Falcon Trading became both a manufacturer and distributor.

The first SunRidge products were trail mixes, made and mixed in his home kitchen. Today SunRidge Farms manufactures and distributes high quality organic fruits, nuts and snack mixes sold in major retail chains throughout the U.S. and Canada.

The company operates a 200,000-squarefoot home facility in Royal Oaks.

Sandi Eason — COO, Pacific Valley Bank (Salinas) She is a banker with a career of 40+ years.

She joined Pacific Valley Bank in 2020 as executive vice president and chief operating officer. She spent 29 years with Wells Fargo before becoming president and CEO at Coast Commercial Bank.

A fourth-generation resident of the Monterey Peninsula and graduate of Pacific Grove High School, she has a lifelong connection

The goal is the remodel is to create an environment conducive to healing and recovery.

Instead of offices, the building will have conference rooms, family spaces and other amenities designed to meet the needs of young individuals in crisis.

This will expand the Health Services Agency’s Behavioral Health Services Division’s substance use disorder and mental health services.

The project is being undertaken by the county Department of Community Development & Infrastructure. n

•••

For information, follow the department on Facebook, Instagram, X and Nextdoor.

with the Monterey Bay Region. She recently retired after 9 years on the board of United Way Monterey County, the last two years as board chair.

She is in her sixth year on the board and third year as president of IMPOWER, a Monterey County organization supporting women’s initiatives and scholarships.

Sandi is on the executive board of The Living Breath Foundation, providing financial support to those living with Cystic Fibrosis.

She was recognized in 2023 as a National Volunteer ‘hero’ for JDRF, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, for her work over 20 years. Sandi was honored this past November at the National Philanthropy luncheon for her work on the United Way Monterey County Board.

She currently serves on the Board of Monterey Bay Economic Partnership. Previously she was on the Board of Councilors, Division of Social Sciences for UC Santa Cruz, the board of Second Harvest Food Bank co-chairing the Holiday Food Drive twice, United Way of Santa Cruz County and many other local nonprofits. She has

three adult children, all graduates of Pacific Grove High School, and four energizing grandchildren.

She lives in Carmel Valley with her spouse, Kat.

Tom Gray, real estate developer, conservationist and philanthropist, Santa Lucia Preserve (Carmel Valley)

He is co-founder of the Santa Lucia Conservancy. He and his late partner Peter Stocker first saw the land that would become the Santa Lucia Preserve in February 1989, envisioning a conservation community of private homes and protected land. Before his preservation work, he was a senior executive at Wells Fargo & Co. and ran two of Wells Fargo’s real estate subsidiaries.

He was the managing principal partner in developing the Santa Lucia Preserve community. Beginning in 1990, he led the transformation of the historic Rancho San Carlos into the “Santa Lucia Preserve” a development where 297 private home-sites are interwoven throughout 20,000 acres of open space, 90% of which is protected in perpetuity through the Santa Lucia Conservancy, which was endowed with $25 million from the developer.

He was a member of the CSU Monterey Bay President’s Council and led the capital campaign for the university’s Chapman Science Academic Center, the first new building erected on the campus. He is past board chair of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Monterey County. His work helped establish conservation and environmental education programs through the Preserve, which are offered free to local schools and nonprofits.

Tom and his wife, Alayna, live at the Santa Lucia Preserve.

•••

About 20 students from Watsonville attended as part of their participation in JA’s high school entrepreneurship programs. One student-run company, “Rosever,” makes and sells “forever” flower bouquets made from satin ribbon. During the networking hour, attendees bought out their entire inventory.

“This event celebrates the very best of our local business community while directly inspiring and empowering the next generation of entrepreneurs and community leaders, our JA students,” said JA NorCal CEO Cristene Burr. n

Photo Credit: Jondi Gumz

“Live Your Dream” from page 5

One winner, age 33, asked to remain anonymous. She is a single mother of two, studying cosmetology. She is dedicated to working with natural hairstyles and is specializing in braiding and loctician services (working with locs, also known as dreadlocks). Her goal is to receive a state license which will allow her to work in a professional salon.

“I proactively sought out education opportunities, participating in numerous classes led by professionals in the natural hair field,” she wrote. “These experiences enhanced my skill set and also earned me the trust of the natural hair community, allowing me to cultivate my own clientele.”

To be eligible for the Live Your Dream award, women must be heads of their household, enrolled in or have been accepted into a bachelor’s or technical training program, and demonstrate need.

Soroptimist International of Capitolaby-the-Sea is a global volunteer organization

“I proactively sought out education opportunities, participating in numerous classes led by professionals in the natural hair field. These experiences enhanced my skill set and also earned me the trust of the natural hair community, allowing me to cultivate my own clientele.”

— Marjorie Jackson

that provides women and girls with access to the education and training to achieve economic empowerment. Soroptimist is a coined Latin phrase meaning Best for Women. n •••

For information, see www.best4women.org, or email sicapitola.by.the.sea@gmail.com

“Surfing Teens” from page 7

I’m interested in marine biology and also real estate — I’ve been looking at Zillow since I was 10.

Here is Jack:

What helped you place first?

What helped most was the contest was over at The Hook. I’m familiar with that spot. It made it easier for me. My scores were 8.0 and 9.4.

That one was definitely one of best waves that came through all day. It was lot bigger than any other wave. I hung 10 in the pocket of the wave. I just kind of blanked out. I don’t remember much.

When did you start surfing?

Probably about a year and a half when my dad took me out, then when I was 9. I might have grown up more on the ocean than the land.

What helped you get to where you are now?

Part of it is practice. I also have a surf

coach, his name is C, who has helped me and my dad as well. I’m surfing every day.

Your longboard?

It’s by Source and it works really well for me. Nick Palandrani shapes all my surf boards.

What are your post-high school plans?

Probably go to Cabriilo for two years to get my fire science degree, then transfer to a 4-year in Southern California and get a business degree — UC Santa Barbara or CSU San Diego.

Why fire science?

Being in the ocean, I’m a bit of an adrenaline junkie. I’ve surfed at Mavericks when it’s big enough and I saw how the rescue crews worked. It’s really exciting to see it first-hand. That’s what made think of fire science or water rescue.

Will you keep surfing in college?

Hopefully I would. I don’t know if I could live without it. n

Jack Snyder

BCycle E-Bike Coming in March to Capitola

An initiative to bring electric bicycles to Capitola is scheduled to launch in March, ahead of the tourism season in this seaside city.

A year ago, the City Council agreed to bring at least 50 BCycles and 100 docking stations for a five-year stretch. The council is supposed to approve the map of locations before installation.

Capitola is always jammed with traffic when tourists arrive, and this could give them — and local residents — a new option for getting around.

The reason BCycle was chosen is that it provides a place for the bicycle at the end of the ride, unlike other bikeshare companies where the vehicles were left on sidewalks and streets, creating hazardous conditions.

The city of Santa Cruz launched in June with 400 BCycles at 800 docks in the city and UC Santa Cruz.

A 2023 staff report said for one-time service in Capitola, the fee would be $7 per each 30 minutes which maxxes out at $75.

A monthly use subscription was $30, and an annual use $150.

BCycle, owned bv Trek, a family-owned company, with John Burke as president, and based in Waterloo, Wisconsin, launched in 2008.

BCycle and Trek are financing all capital and operating costs to get the docking stations and BCycle bikes in Capitola, Pleasure Point, Twin Lakes and Live Oak, according to Tiffany Martinez, spokesperson for the county Department of Public Works & Infrastructure.

BCycle operates in more than 30 cities, including Nashville, San Antonio and Des Moines.

She expects BCycle’s official launch in Capitola, Pleasure Point, Twin Lakes and Live Oak in March 2024. n

Good Friday Paddle Out

Capitola Beach Esplanade • Friday March 29 • 5:30-7:30 p.m.

In a beach community — when a loved one passes away, surfers paddle out to honor their impact & express gratitude for the life they lived.

In Santa Cruz tradition, local churches in our community including Tradewinds in Aptos are gathering to paddle out — honoring the life of Jesus & His sacrifice on the cross on Good Friday, March 29 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Capitola Beach Esplanade.

There will be baptisms and a worship concert by Kokua.

Come to the beach or in the water — all are welcome. n

Police Chief’s Advisory Committee to Debut

Eight people will serve on the city of Capitola’s first Police Chief’s Advisory Committee, working with Chief Andy Dally.

They are:

Enrique Domo — Capitola resident, works at NBMS, coach, drives a school bus, works security in the village.

Heidy Kellison — Capitola resident (parttime) and volunteer.

Linda Smith — Capitola resident and volunteer.

Matt Arthur — Capitola resident and business owner.

Robin Lasser — Capitola resident,

Brookvale Terrace HOA board member, senior advocate.

Shannon McLeod — Capitola resident, raised family in Capitola, education background (St. Francis and Archbishop Mitty), worked at CVS as Pharmacy Tech.

JoAnn Segrue — Soquel/Aptos resident, the perspective of LGBTQIA+, served on several boards, including the Sheriff Advisory Board.

Elaine Johnson — Live Oak resident, President of Santa Cruz NAACP. n Appointments were approved by the City Council at the Feb. 8 meeting.

Capitola-Soquel Chamber To Honor Five Shining Stars & Local Legends

Awards Gala: March 15

The Capitola-Soquel Chamber of Commerce will honor five shining stars and local legends at the annual Community Awards Gala at Hotel Paradox in Santa Cruz on March 15. They are:

Person of the Year: Gerry Jensen, businessman and founder of Random Acts of Capitola Kindness

Business of the Year: Britannia Arms of Capitola Educator/Public Service: Dwight Lowery, head football coach at Soquel High Rising Star/Outstanding Youth: Iman Moshari founder of nonprofit Bikes4All Community Spirit: Mindy Cinelli, talent development manager at Bay Federal Credit Union

“In the wake of the January storm that wreaked havoc in Capitola Village and caused significant damage to the Wharf, the community has come together

to celebrate resilience and healing,” said Carrie Arnone, CEO of the chamber. “We commend the shining stars who have taken charge during challenging times and initiated inspiring efforts for community healing. The Chamber is proud to honor these individuals and invites the community to join in the celebration on March 15. This event is not only a tribute to the honorees but also a symbol of unity and strength in the face of adversity.”

Tickets for dinner, music, and appetizers are $100 per person. Make your reservation for March 15 from 5:30 to 9 p.m. at the Hotel Paradox, 611 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. n

Info: 831-475-652. For sponsorship opportunities, see https:// master.capitolachamber.com/ events/details/capitola-soquel-chambercommunity-awards-gala-2920

Milgard Moving Glass Walls

Dwight Lowery

Mindy Cinelli

Gerry Jensen Iman Moshari Britannia Arms • Photo Credit: Jenny Sandrof

“Chop Suey” from page 4

Surprisingly, he called and asked me out again and again. We didn’t eat out but strolled in the path of Lincoln Park every evening after we each ate dinner at our own places. We were not feeling bored anymore, but like good old friends; we shared our fun encounters and complained about negative experiences at work and discussed some political issues. We had the same affection for our homeland and concern about its political future.

Without a doubt, we were attracted to each other and we didn’t even know it. We started out liking each other, and progressed to falling in love, and became madly in love within four months. When we were together, it was like we possessed the whole world and there was nobody else who existed. We both agreed it was the happiest and the most mysterious and meaningful relationship we had ever had.

Good times and good things don’t last forever. The two lovebirds would have to be apart. I-ming had to move to Utah for his PhD in engineering at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City in order to fulfill his dream of receiving a higher degree, in the hope of having a better career and a brighter future, as well as to honor his family and to glorify his deceased ancestors

I had to continue to work at the hospital in Chicago in order to help support my family in Taiwan.

We had a decision to make: Either quit the relationship or continue our relationship through the mail. In the 1960s long distance telephone calls cost $10 per minute, which was outrageous to me. I didn’t mind becoming a frequent writer. One love letter a day or every other day became my after-work routine. To receive a response once or twice a week was a generous reward from him and a great joy for me.

I understood his brutal schooling was a big burden, and he wanted to complete his degree as soon as possible, so I didn’t have high hopes of him writing back to me often.

I-ming left Chicago for Salt Lake City in the middle of September, 1968. We didn’t see each other until the winter break when he returned and stayed with his friend for two weeks. We enjoyed our meetings at the park again to rewarm our loving hearts, even in the freezing cold weather. It was a pure and inseparable two weeks for us. When the temperature dropped to minus 40 degrees

with the wind chill factor, we had no choice and the public library became our precious nest to build and maintain our love. We talked about getting married in the future.

Getting married is a family affair in Taiwanese tradition. It was complicated, especially with his widowed mother and his maiden older sister, and he was the only son, so his marriage was a big deal for him and his family.

When I-ming shared with them the news of his relationship with his girlfriend, his sister Ying-ying, a chemist at a New York City hospital, insisted on coming to see him around Christmas time, 1968.

Actually, she had a mission to inspect and approve of who her brother was dating. Two days before Christmas Ying-ying came to Chicago and took us to The Nutcracker ballet. The whole time I felt uncomfortable and restless, and I noticed Ying-ying was sneaking glances at me frequently.

I was right about the negative karma of my relationship with I-ming. His mother and the relatives were against our plans to get married in the future.

I was a registered nurse, not good enough to glorify the family and ancestors.

Ying-ying had found an ABC (American Born Chinese) medical student for her brother. She insisted that only someone with a medical degree or a PhD was good enough to be of equal status

I was outcast by I-ming’s family because I was only a registered nurse and a certified nurse-midwife, plus I came from a poor farming family. His father had been a government employee; we were of different social status.

I understood the whole thing because I was familiar with my culture and adapted to it and accepted it. But my heart ached and I foresaw the possibility of losing my love.

No words could express how I felt, and it was bad enough to drag me into insomnia and loss of appetite.

Despite all the interference from his sister and relatives, I-ming didn’t give up on his love for me. He wrote to his mother stating he didn’t want to give up his relationship with the one he was in love with. If his mother didn’t want to be involved with the affair, he would just let it be and take care of it himself. Wow! What a rebellious guy to dare to go against the rule of law—obedience and filial piety

We continued to interact with each other as diligent pen pals, seeing each other on spring and summer breaks. Around midOctober, 1969, I-ming wrote, “My advisor was so kind; he is going to grant me a special permission to take my finals sooner, but he wants me to keep it a secret. So can we get married in the winter break?”

Like a lightning strike, what a surprise! He wanted to get married without his family’s approval: a truly loving gesture to me, and a blessing. Without a second thought, I agreed to his proposal.

In such a hurry and without any plan, I was going to get married. I had no idea what to do or how to do it.

I had attended the wedding of my colleague, Katie, who had gotten married eight months before. Her wedding took place in a very unusual setting, in the loft of a warehouse. About 30 people attended the ceremony, mostly her coworkers and a few of her friends; her family was absent. There was a big screen on the wall with colorful flashing lights coming from a projector that reflected colorful water that had oil floating on it. Both bride and groom were barefoot.

Katie wore a white wedding dress she had hand-stitched at work for a few months when no one was in labor, her tiara was made of thin twigs decorated with wildflowers, and the handsome groom was dressed like a black-belt judo sportsman. Some of the attendees enjoyed wild dancing with disco music and self-served punch, and the cake was decorated with petals of flowers and grass. I was told a hippie wedding reception was not a sit-down dinner but was going to have something that would make me feel good, happy, and high. I was too naive and didn’t feel comfortable with the atmosphere, and I excused myself and left the party early with my friend Teresa. We both had to go to work early in the morning.

Their honeymoon was soon over. Katie happily came back to work two weeks later. Her life went on like a roller coaster; sometimes Katie came to work with black eyes or bruises on her face and arms. Then she would receive an amazingly beautiful bouquet

along with a fancy note. The sweet and bitter romantic marriage lasted only about eight months before it dissolved, and Katie became happily single again, free as a bird. Since her wedding ceremony was so strange, and her marriage was so short-lived, I had no desire to have her advice. All of my other colleagues were single. Miss Lou, the head nurse, who was 10 years older than me, kindly offered some information and tips on what I needed to do for the wedding, such as picking a church, ordering a boutique and invitations, planning a reception, and so on.

Back home in Taiwan, we would be like puppets with the parents and relatives totally dominating the wedding planning and festivities. Some newlywed couples wouldn’t even see each other until the wedding day.

I was excited but nervous to have a wedding ahead of me. With less than two months left, I swiftly ordered 50 invitations, and a bridal bouquet that cost $36. I thought I was stretched to my financial limit, and I was lucky to inherit a handmade bridal gown from a friend in Evanston; it was passed along to two other friends after my wedding.

I was all set to get married except for finding someone to marry us at a church. I panicked when no church was available around Christmas time for the wedding. I called every single church listed in the phone book, but I was like a fly that was headless, bumping into the wall in despair. No one told me I could get married without doing it the traditional way. You can go to city hall for a wedding ceremony and register without a hassle and it doesn’t cost a lot. All you have to do is present test results of your blood type and proof of a negative STD test.

God never fails you! As I was walking home from work one afternoon on Fullerton Avenue, I glimpsed a gentleman walking out of the Presbyterian church. Even during the crisis, my brain power was still sharp. I rushed across the street and without introducing myself, I got right to the point, asking him if there was a possibility of having a wedding around Christmas. He introduced himself as Pastor William Taylor. He apologized and deeply sympathized with my situation, and asked, “Didn’t you call the other day? It’s not possible to find a place—it’s busy Christmas time and it’s such short notice…” He stared right into my teary eyes and said “Excuse me!” Then he went back to the church. I was puzzled why a pastor would so heartlessly ignore me.

It took him about 10 minutes, and he returned with a smile. “What a surprise! You are so blessed, there are three weddings on December 20th, back to back, the first one is at noon. Christine is so nice; she is kind and willing to help you, but you have to leave by 11.” The pastor was in a hurry to leave, but he promised to give me a call.

Pastor Taylor called me on November 17 for a heads-up and then sent me a confirmation letter. The wedding would take place on December 20, 1969.

I fantasized, and expected it to be the happiest day in my life.

I was relieved and relaxed that I had one month to get ready for my wedding.

But unexpected trouble kicked in. There was back and forth with Ying-ying, who had issues with the wedding. She insisted I had to make the wedding a glamorous affair.

Sho-Li with her family in 1960.

Chop Suey Book Signing

Sho-li Cheng will sign copies of her book “Chop Suey” at the Mid-County Senior Center at 829 Bay Ave., Capitola, from 3 to 5 p.m. March 16.

The Mid-County Senior Center is where she took a writing class with Teresa Dance, which led to the book. Come and hear her present her book plus give a reading starting at 3 p.m.

A once-in-a-lifetime evening wedding ceremony was a must, the groom had to wear no ordinary tuxedo but a tailcoat like President Dwight Esenhower’s grandson David, who married President Nixon’s daughter Julie, on December 22, 1968. What an unrealistic demand! What a joke!

Like a war without weapons, she got mad at me, and her last letter to me said, “You’re so selfish! You want to make the best of yourself, why not my brother!?” The only solution to calm the nonsense was to stop corresponding with her, a woman who was single and had her own dream picture. Both I-ming and I understood the momentary glorious wedding was meaningful to his family. But if you can’t afford it and it’s not the right time or the right situation, isn’t it just like slapping your face until it’s swollen in an effort to look imposing ?

When I-ming showed up two weeks before the wedding, the first thing we did was to purchase a black suit and a bow tie at Carson’s department store on State Street in Chicago. When you are poor, you need to be creative and try hard to adapt to the conditions; being thrifty, or even better, being stingy is the key. A suit that was marked down 50% was a good deal and a big deal. We felt we had gotten a bonus even though it was not the right size: one size too small, and too short besides. Who cares if there’s a little defect in something that is only going to be worn for two hours? We could always try to overcome the problem by just ignoring the imperfections. We were ready for the perfect and happy event.

Two days before the wedding, we met Pastor Taylor for marriage counseling at 1:30 p.m., and the two-hour session went smoothly. Before we left the church, Pastor Taylor asked if there would be a ring bearer, and we were puzzled before he explained about the wedding band stuff. We realized we didn’t have rings. We avowed that we were not only naive but also ignorant about the American tradition that you have to have rings to get married. The exchange of rings means the promise of unending love.

Pastor Taylor suggested we could buy a fake silver wedding band for a quarter and a fake diamond ring for a half-dollar at the Woolworth’s penny store if we wanted. We went to Woolworth’s, two blocks away, to check out the wedding bands and diamond rings. The fake rings looked

okay, but I didn’t like them. They didn’t appear normal to me. Faking the truth was unethical, and fake meant cheap.

I-ming couldn’t afford to pay for the real thing; he was poor and thrifty. I had been working in labor and delivery for two years and I sent every other paycheck home to help support my family. I didn’t make a lot of money, but things were cheaper then. Money I didn’t need for living expenses went into my savings account, which was my only asset: $1,000. Actually, compared to some of my nursing colleagues, I was a rich young woman and I didn’t even know it.

We were like fledglings, an odd couple running around and not knowing what to do about the rings, and we didn’t have time to mess around. We didn’t want to call off the wedding just because of this silly thing. I came up with a strategy to let I-ming borrow my money to buy the rings. It was so embarrassing for him to be in my debt even before we became a married couple. What a laugh! Crisis management as a good alternative.

We hurriedly went to the bank to withdraw my money and kept $10 in my account, then we rushed to downtown Chicago to shop around for a good deal. We found two platinum wedding bands and a small but top-quality brilliant diamond set in platinum on sale at Sears, totaling $800 with a lifetime warranty. It was the most expensive thing he had ever had to purchase, and an unprecedented huge debt.

The night before the wedding, a swift and simple rehearsal took place. I was surprised the church was decorated beautifully and elegantly with a lot of red poinsettias, red roses, ribbons and candles, and a red carpet in the aisle. I was very grateful, wondering why the bride Christine was so generous and kind. I was emotional, and deeply touched by her message to Pastor Taylor that it was a small thing she could do to help someone who desperately needed help, especially in the Christmas season. I never met her or talked with her. I couldn’t imagine such a miracle happening in my life. What a noble gesture and gift she gave me. I never paid her back, and her Christmas spirit inspired an incredible impact on my life. I wanted to be as kind as she was.

“Chop Suey” page 16

“Chop Suey” from page 15

The night before the wedding, I was restless and I was still wide awake at three o’clock. My head was pounding and my thoughts were spinning. I started to wonder if what I had done was a wise decision, to marry someone I loved so much but had only known for a few months. The only family member who could make it to the wedding was Ying-ying, a very pushy and bossy maiden. None of my family had a chance to come to help celebrate my marriage. They simply couldn’t afford to pay for the long trip from Taiwan. I felt scared and worried, and I cried. At seven in the morning I got myself ready, my face puffy from crying. Father Pu, the owner of the rental house where I lived, took me to the church. I hung up a three-foot-by-four-foot poster I had painted with a silver wedding bell, to make sure the reception room at the church was not too bare and boring.

One of my friends, Catherine, brought a bowl of non-alcoholic punch and some homemade cookies. A nice wedding cake was delivered to the church by nine o’clock. Everyone was ready to help celebrate my wedding, about 30 people. The whole process of the wedding ceremony took about 15 minutes, and a rushed reception was completed in about 40 minutes. Nothing fancy but a humble event that was inexpensive. The reception looked too cheap, but we had no choice. Excluding the expensive rings, the cost of the wedding ceremony and travelling

expenses all totaled about one month’s worth of my salary.

Almost 52 years have passed. Unlike most of my Taiwanese friends who stored their diamond rings in the safe, I wore my diamond ring and my wedding band all the time since the day we got married. It was weird and crazy, but I have a fun memory of my bizarre wedding.

I still wish I could have had a decent, Western-style kneeling-down proposal with

a diamond ring, and a normal wedding ceremony with my family and friends joining the celebrations. The low-cost wedding did stress me with some embarrassment and frustration. But I was able to convince myself we didn’t need to have an extravagant wedding to have happiness. A few of my friends had glamorous engagement parties and posh wedding ceremonies and receptions, with sweet honeymoons and all

marriages crumbled and ended in bitter divorces.

I had a bizarre wedding with no romantic kneeling proposal, no formal reception, and no dream honeymoon, but my life-long happy relationship with my dear husband was a blessing.

We enjoyed our honeymoon-like life later on. We had a good life together for 52 years, traveled to places we dreamed about, and had wonderful times and memories.

It was bizarre that my precious onethird carat diamond mysteriously dislodged from my ring three days after my husband passed away on my son’s 51st birthday. I couldn’t believe it happened. I looked all over the place, searching everywhere, but I couldn’t recover it. I wondered if the loss of the diamond had some significance to my marriage. I was sorry for the loss but wasn’t terribly disappointed.

My husband had paid off his debt a long time ago, and I had loved and enjoyed the rings for almost 52 years. I couldn’t find the warranty papers. It is regrettable but it’s not the end of the world. I removed the rings from my finger.

My hands are bare now, but my head, my heart, and my mind still rejoice with the meticulous memory of how I received my diamond ring, how I had to accept the reality of being poor and being thrifty, and how I coped with my bizarre wedding that paved the path to a happy ending. n

Cover Photo: Sho-Li and I-ming Cheng

Sho-Li with her newborn grandson Brandon, born March 23, 2004. She was his midwife.

New Leaders for County Fair Board

Rachel Wells will be the 2024 president of the board of the Santa Cruz County Fair, succeeding Michael Pruger.

“I’m honored to have been elected Board President by my colleagues, and I’m looking forward to a successful and positive year,” said Wells, who lives in Felton. “I’ve been attending the Santa Cruz County Fair my entire life, including years of competing in the horse show, and I’m very proud to serve on the board and ensure the success and sustainability of the fair and fairgrounds. As a north county resident, I’m also looking forward to expanding our reach and welcoming more community members to the fairgrounds.”

She added, “I hope you’ll join us for fair-time, upcoming volunteer opportunities, and other exciting events at the fairgrounds. Please feel free to reach out to me at wells@santacruzcountyfair.com at any time.”

She has been a public affairs and community engagement representative for the California School Boards Association since 2022. Before that, she was an outreach specialist at the California High-Speed Rail Authority and from 2015 to 2020, worked for then Sen. Bill Monning.

Dana McCrae, who lives in Santa Cruz, has been elected vice president.

“Serving on the Fair Board is a distinct honor. I look forward to supporting our new Board President, Rachel Wells, in achieving the goals she sets for the year. 2024 is going to be another great year for our Santa Cruz County Fair,” said McCrae, a former Santa Cruz County counsel.

Mike Pruger, who was board president in 2023, has stepped down, which leaves three of the nine board seats vacant. Appointments for the 14th District Agricultural Association are made by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

“After serving on the board for the past eight years, I feel it is time to move on. I thank all the volunteers, board members and staff for all their hard work these past months and feel confident the fair is in good hands to move forward,” said Pruger.

Board members and staff expect the 2024 County Fai, scheduled for Sept. 11-15, with Zach Fraser at the helm for a second year, will delight fairgoers.

The theme is expected to be announced soon, along with new events and concerts.

Attendance for the 2023 Fair was up 3% overall compared to 2022, which Fair staff attributed to the strength of the Fair — ability to thrive despite turnover in management with the departure of longtime CEO Dave Kegebein earlier in the year.

In addition, the Junior Livestock Auction, which showcases the work of talented

youth in 4-H and FFA, raised more than $455,000.

Board meetings typically take place at 1:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday at the county fairgrounds in the Fine Arts Building. n

•••

To meet the full board and see upcoming meeting agendas, visit the Fair website www. santacruzcountyfair.com.

Add Light In Your Home With A New Skylight

Michael Pruger

Dana McRae

Rachel Wells

Members of Congress: Investigate Uyghur Forced Labor for Seafood

On Feb. 16, U.S. Representatives Jimmy Panetta (D-Carmel Valley) and Michelle Park Steel (R-Orange County) led a bipartisan group of lawmakers to urge the Biden administration to investigate allegations of forced labor in seafood supply chains with China.

In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai, and Acting U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Troy Miller, the lawmakers emphasize the importance of action ahead of fishing subsidies negotiations at the upcoming World Trade Organization’s 13th ministerial conference MC!13 Feb. 26-29 in Abu Dhabi. The letter was signed by 12 members of Congress.

The U.S. imports about 80% of its seafood, such as fish sticks served in school lunches, and China is the largest supplier.

Despite ongoing issues in the Chinese fishing sector, the WTO’s Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies still does not include a ban on subsidies for fishing activities that use forced labor.

In 2016, Santa Cruz resident and UC Santa Cruz alum Martha Mendoza won a Pulitzer for reporting that revealed seafood widely available in U.S. stores was being processed by slave labor in Southeast Asia.

In October, the Ocean Outlaw Project, a nonprofit journalism organization that produces investigative stories about human rights, labor, and environmental concerns, provided evidence of several fishing companies working with the Chinese government and Chinese provincial governments to recruit and use Uyghurs, ethnic minorities in China, as forced labor.

“Congress has made clear that it is our shared responsibility to combat human trafficking by curbing imports produced with forced labor and sanctioning the companies and individuals responsible,”

the members of Congress said. “China’s seafood industry has been a clear source of forced labor, and recent reporting by the OOP has drawn much needed attention to the sector. Given the evidence before us, we have a duty to investigate allegations of forced labor both on the high seas and in seafood processing, especially when it is part of a CCP-sponsored effort to subjugate the minority Uyghur population.”

Additional signers include; Reps. Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), Darin LaHood (IL16), Mike Thompson (CA-04), Greg Steube (FL-17), Linda Sánchez (CA-38), Terri Sewell (AL-07), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Dan Kildee (MI-08), Brad Schneider (IL10), and Jimmy Gomez (CA-34).

Here is the letter: •••

Dear Secretary Blinken, Ambassador Tai, and Acting Commissioner Miller:

As Members of the Ways and Means Committee, we urge you to investigate allegations of forced labor in seafood supply chains associated with China and promptly take appropriate action to address these deplorable practices. Action by the administration would complement ongoing multilateral efforts to reduce unfair practices in the global fishing sector in the lead-up to the World Trade Organization’s 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13).

In the coming weeks, countries will meet at MC13, where a critical topic will be addressing harmful fisheries subsidies. WTO members will discuss urgent work toward entry into force of the 2022 WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, while also considering expansion of the current agreement to address a broader range of harmful subsidies in this sector. Nearly 90 percent of the planet’s fish stocks are fully exploited, overexploited, or depleted. As a result of state intervention — of which China is by far the worst offender — the world faces an ecological and food security threat.

Fisheries subsidies are a human rights threat as well. The current Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies does not explicitly address a number of unfair practices, including the use of forced labor in seafood supply chains. To complement the negotiations and demonstrate the commitment of the United States to combatting unfair fishing practices more broadly, the United States should take available unilateral action

to address identified instances of unfair fishing practices, such as forced labor.

For example, there is mounting evidence that Chinese seafood companies — allegedly including Yantai Sanko Fisheries, Yantai Longwin Foods, the Chishan Group, Shandong Meijia Group, Qingdao Tianyuan Aquatic Foodstuffs, and the Rongsense Group — are complicit in, or directly responsible for, forced labor by Uyghurs or other minority populations from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. While the pattern of forced labor by the Chinese government, in Xinjiang and beyond, is known, there is evidence of these companies working with China’s national and provincial governments to recruit and utilize forced labor. We are concerned that such abuses may taint U.S. seafood supply chains, as we are aware of serious allegations that seafood produced with forced labor supplies food service companies, grocers, and restaurants around the world, including in the United States.

Therefore, we urge you to consider, and when appropriate, use available tools that Congress has provided to combat these practices. Sanctions, including those pursuant to the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, could be a powerful tool to hold individuals accountable who are involved in the trade of seafood made with forced labor and send a message to the global industry that forced labor will not be tolerated. Given the specific allegations of forced labor in the context of both fishing vessels and processing, Customs and Border Protection should also consider potential Withhold Release Orders to effectuate the forced labor prohibition in Section 307 of the Tariff Act of 1930, as well as the application of the rebuttable presumption set forth in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act.

Effective deployment of these tools sends a strong message to our trading partners that the United States takes unfair fisheries practices seriously. Driving a hard bargain at MC13 for an outcome that effectively disciplines distortive fishing subsidies and stepping up to challenge forced labor in seafood supply chains are complementary actions that demonstrate U.S. leadership on an issue of economic, ecological, and human rights significance.

Thank you for your consideration of this request. n •••

To read the Outlaw Ocean report, see https://www.theoutlawocean.com/investigations/china-the-superpower-of-seafood/ the-uyghurs-forced-to-process-the-worlds-fish/

Jimmy Panetta

Michelle Park Steel

Community Bridges Offers to Purchase Live Oak Senior Center School District Eyes Site for Educator Housing

OBy Jondi Gumz

n Feb. 15, Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County, a program of Community Bridges, announced its intent to buy the Elena Baskin Live Oak Senior Center for $2.4 million from the Live Oak School District, providing revenue to pursue a workforce housing project.

Like other districts around the state, Live Oak has seen enrollment decline — currently about 1,900 students — and Covid pandemic grants dry up, and that has reduced revenue to the point where the Santa Cruz County Office of Education warned the district may not meet financial obligations in future years unless spending is cut.

On Feb. 22, facing protests by school staff and parents, the Live Oak school board declined to adopt proposed layoffs of the equivalent of 37.8 full-time employees. These included many part-time staff such as yard duty supervisors and instructional aides. Also proposed for cuts: Middle school art, elementary physical education, assistant principal, elementary principal, school psychologist, financial analyst, and director of family and community engagement.

The state deadline to send layoff notices is March 15, so the board is likely to call special meetings to decide what to do.

On March 5, Live Oak voters will decide on Measure H, a $44 million bond to modernize and construct classrooms, restrooms and school facilities and install ventilation and air conditioning, and technology for learning. The money can not be spent on salaries or a teacher housing project.

Community Bridges said it is offering the school district an option to purchase a nearby property that could accommodate 37 units, the location not made public.

That site, however, may not be as large as the 1.4-acre property at 1777 Capitola Road, the Meals on Wheels headquarters since 1977, and home of the nonprofit Senior Network Services.

The property owner of the nearby site had proposed to build 15 single-family homes with 15 accessory dwelling units.

Because of state pressure on cities and counties to approve more housing, the zoning has been changed for numerous sites to permit taller residential buildings.

Last year, the Live Oak school district was aiming to build at least 50 rentals for employees with a goal for them to spend less than 30% of

income on rent, which is a federal guideline of affordability

In Santa Cruz County, rentals are so expensive, increasing faster than wages, and 51% of residents pay more than 30% of income for rent.

The building at 1777 Capitola Road is reported to need $200,000 to $500,000 in repairs, with the roof, heating system, and parking lot in need of replacement.

Kristin Pfotenhauer, president of the Live Oak School District board, appears interested in working with Community Bridges if a site suitable for employee housing is found. She hoped to have more information by the end of April.

Community Bridges was hopeful the $2.4 million purchase, to include a $800,000 down payment, would help the district resolve its current budget deficit but those issues are structural — birth rates are declining statewide and families are leaving to find more affordable communities — and money from a property sale can’t be spent on employee salaries and benefits.

Meals on Wheels provides daily meals for about 800 older adults, and Senior Network Services connects seniors with services such as information on Medicare.

Their home base has been in limbo since late 2018, when Live Oak School District informed Community Bridges that officials were thinking of the property for workforce housing.

Three times, Meals on Wheels and Senior Network Service have been given eviction dates, and both have operated at the Live Oak Senior Center on month-to-month leases while working with the Live Oak School District on the terms of a two-year lease extension.

“Senior Center” page 21

Meals on Wheels, run by Community Bridges, and Senior Network Services, share at site at 1777 Capitola Road in Live Oak.

How’s Your PG&E Bill?

Email Us Your

Californians living in a state averaging 975,000 acres of annual wildfires since 2000 are paying some of the highest electricity rates in the nation.

Regulations called NEM 3.0 adopted by the California Public Utilities Commission in April 2023 have slashed compensation for exported home rooftop solar.

According to Environmental Working Group, many solar installers are bankrupt.

Installation applications are down by 80%, according to pv magazine, which covers the industry.

Some 17,000 jobs — about 17% of the workforce — have been lost, according to pv magazine.

Meanwhile PG&E, the investorowned utility in northern California, is charging 13% more for power, which is to pay for undergrounding power lines in the wake of devastating wildfires, some of which fire officials said were caused by power lines, and to resume quarterly dividends of a penny a share to shareholders which were halted in 2017.

Opinions

What’s the impact for homeowners?

Share your story with our readers. Email editor Jondi Gumz at info@cyber-times. com and put Home Solar in the subject line. n

LOCAL SPORTS

SCCAL All League Girls Soccer

Aptos High girls’ soccer, coached since 2011 by Aptos High Hall of Famer Gina Castanada, took first in the Santa Cruz Coastal Athletic League with a

Player-of-the-Year

Alexa Castaneda (10) — Aptos

Offensive Player-of-the-Year

Julia Inkles (12) — Soquel

Defensive Player-of-the-Year

Anahi Macias (11) — Aptos

Goalkeeper-of-the-Year

Alessandra Zuniga (12) — Aptos

Coach-of-the-Year

Gina Castaneda — Aptos

•••

First Team

Isabella Hartnett (9) - Aptos - F

Izzie Schenone (10) - Aptos - D

Ella Shoemaker (12) - Aptos - M

Maya Kingsley (12) - Santa Cruz - D

Taylor Ericson (9) - Scotts Valley - F

Ella Ireland (10) - Scotts Valley - F

Chloe McGilvray (11) - Soquel - D

9-0-1 record and dominated the top player awards, as selected by coaches. Soquel High finished second with a 7-3 record and Scotts Valley High was third at 6-4. n

Arden Salles-Cunha (11) - Soquel - M

Trinity Wilson (11) - Soquel M

Becca Vaca (11) - Harbor - D

Ava Root (12) - Harbor - D

Taylor Long (12) - SLV - GK

Second Team

Scarlett Stateler (9) - Aptos - F

Peyton Westjohn (12) - Aptos - D

Kaitlyn Murphy (12) - Aptos - M

Elena McCamey (11) - Santa Cruz - M

Ava Bibighaus (11) - Harbor - F

Sonja Hulphers (12) - Harbor - M

Annie Gowing (12) - Scotts Valley - D

Dillon Fiorita (11) - Scotts Valley - M

Madalyn Price (12) - Soquel - F

Ashlyn Brady (11) - Soquel - D

Chloe Izenstark (11) - Soquel - M

Jessica Stoelting (11) - SLV - F

Honorable Mention

Anahi Najera (10) - Aptos - D

Angelique Nunez (12) - Aptos - F

Isabelle Graff (11) - Aptos - D

Sienna Parker (12) - Santa Cruz - D

Ruby Holmes (12) - Santa Cruz - GK

Lia Gularte (10) - Santa Cruz - M

Paige Bariteau (12) - Scotts Valley - GK

Jordan Ericson (11) - Scotts Valley - M

Skylar Dufour (11) - Scotts Valley - F

Nola Salazar (12) - Soquel - D

Isis Tumasom (10) - Soquel - F

Alyce Javier (11) - Soquel - M

Olivia Chen (12) - Harbor - F

Anika Dawson (12) - Harbor -M

Ruby McAlister (12) - Harbor - F

Joci Carkner (12) - SLV - D

Naomi Sifton (11) - SLV - M

Simone Mugnier (10)- SLV - M

Veterans History Project, Series for Teachers, Launches March 19

Wreaths Across America, with the Library of Congress Veterans History Project, announces the launch of a new free webinar series for teachers.

These four-part quarterly webinars aim to equip educators and youth of all ages with the vast resources available from the Library of Congress. They will focus on how teachers and students can participate in collecting, preserving, and sharing veterans’ stories critical to our nation’s history and the teaching of the next generation about the value of freedom.

The series will kick off at 1 p.m. Tuesday, March 19, and be cohosted by Cindy Tatum, Wreaths Across America curriculum developer and Gold Star mother, and Andrew Huber, senior liaison, Library of Congress Veterans History Project.

Register at https://learn.wreathsacrossamerica.org/teach-webinars

Dates for the remaining webinars include May 14, August, and October to be announced.

“One of the goals of this webinar series is to provide valuable resources to educators as well as students, who we know will benefit from developing listening and interviewing skills, developing a more impactful understanding of history from sharing personal stories and learning more about multi-media practices,” said Tatum.

Educators’ takeaways from webinar

“Senior Center” from page 19

“We want to work quickly with the Live Oak School District to ensure our organizations can meet the needs of seniors and educators, all of whom face challenges to live and thrive in this region. Creating two supportive spaces in the Live Oak community would be an outstanding outcome,” said Raymon Cancino, Community Bridges CEO.

The County of Santa Cruz Redevelopment Agency acquired the Senior Center property and Pleasant Acres Mobile Home Park from the Roberts family trust for $3,315,000.

In 2004, the County then sold the Senior Center to Live Oak School District for

participation include developing a more thorough understanding of the use of the Library of Congress as an educational resource; providing a project for experiential learning for students in developing interviewing techniques and listening skills; increasing awareness of the WAA K-12 curriculum and wreath-laying projects that develop community development and leadership opportunities for students.

“This webinar series is designed to give educators and classrooms all the tools they need to start using the Veterans History Project website for primary source research and create their own primary source materials for inclusion in the Project,” said Huber. “Participants will learn about the Veterans History Project’s standards and requirements as well as basic oral history techniques so they can join the dozens of schools nationwide documenting and preserving the history of our nation’s veterans. “

He added, “Hearing and collecting these incredible firsthand accounts of U.S. veterans is an unforgettable experience for any student interested in American history.”

To explore the TEACH program curriculum for kindergarten through high school and stay informed about new lesson plans, go to www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/teach. n

•••

For more about the Veterans History Project, visit https://www.loc.gov/programs/ veterans-history-project/about-this-program/.

$2,225,000 with the goal to ensure older adult programs would remain at the site.

The Elena Baskin Live Oak Senior Center, named after the late local philanthropist and senior service advocate Elena Baskin, is identified in the Area Plan on Aging as an “irreplaceable hub” for older adults. Baskin, who died in 1996, envisioned preserving and expanding this central location in Live Oak, and the community supported this vision by passing Measure E, a $14.5 million bond measure for the Live Oak School District, in 2004.

The ballot argument for Measure E, signed by Bruce McPherson, John Laird, and Jack O’Neill, reads, “If the District buys this land, the Senior Center will remain open.” n

Cindy Tatum, Gold Star mother

AG: Quest Diagnostics to Pay Nearly $5 Million To Settle Dumping Case

On Feb. 14, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a settlement with Quest Diagnostics, Inc., resolving allegations that the diagnostic laboratory company unlawfully disposed of hazardous waste, medical waste, and protected health information at its facilities statewide.

As part of the settlement, Quest Diagnostics will be required to pay $3,999,500 in civil penalties, $700,000 in costs, and $300,000 for enforcement and training and changes its practices at California facilities.

Joining Bonta were the district attorneys of Alameda, Los Angeles, Monterey, Orange, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Ventura, and Yolo Counties.

The settlement is the result of more than 30 inspections conducted by the district attorneys’ offices at Quest Diagnostics laboratories and patient service centers statewide.

During those inspections, the district attorneys’ offices reviewed the contents of Quest Diagnostics’ compactors and dumpsters and found hundreds of containers of

chemicals, as well as bleach, reagents, batteries, and electronic waste; unredacted medical information; medical waste such as used specimen containers for blood and urine; and hazardous waste such as used batteries, solvents, and flammable liquids.

The unlawful disposals are alleged to violate the Hazardous Waste Control Law, Medical Waste Management Act, Unfair Competition Law, and civil laws prohibiting the unauthorized disclosure of personal health information

“Quest Diagnostics’ illegal disposal of hazardous and medical waste and patient information put families and communities at risk and endangered our envi ronment,” said Bonta, adding that he wants to “send a clear message that my office will hold corporations, including medical services providers, accountable for violations of state environmental and privacy laws.”

FEATURED COLUMN

He also thanked the partnership of the district attorneys’ offices that worked on the case.

“Through our meticulous waste audits, it came to light that Quest Diagnostics may have encountered challenges in properly managing confidential patient data, medical waste, and hazardous materials. Our initial inquiry in San Joaquin County prompted us to engage with the Attorney General’s office,” said San Joaquin County District Attorney Ron Freitas.

“Subsequent audits conducted at Quest’s laboratories shed further light on potential mismanagement issues,” he added.

His office will get $665,000, the largest amount for counties in the settlement.

“This was not an isolated incident by a single Quest Diagnostics testing facility; this was Quest Diagnostics laboratories and testing facilities across the state skirting California’s

hazardous waste laws while ignoring the very real environmental and health impacts of these illegal actions,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer. “We will not allow the public’s health to be jeopardized by laboratories who prioritized cutting corners over protecting the health of the very people they were supposed to be caring for.”

Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko said, “The Simi Valley Landfill & Recycling Center and Ventura County residents were negatively impacted by Quest’s illegal disposal of hazardous waste, medical waste, and protected patient information.” Sacramento County will receive $254,000 from the settlement, which will reimburse the cost of prosecuting thes case and increase enforcement of consumer and environmental protection laws, according to Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho, who expects the financial penalty and permanent injunction will deter Quest Diagnostics from violating laws in the future.

“Quest Fines” page 31

California Outdoors: Salmon Carcasses, Flocks of Birds, Bears

Editor’s note: The California Department of Fish & Wildlife provided this column for your edification.

Salmon Carcasses Donated

When adult (returning) salmon are processed for eggs at hatcheries, what happens with the carcasses?

CDFW has an agreement to donate Chinook salmon carcasses that are fit for human consumption to the California Emergency Foodlink. That agency then works with food banks throughout California to distribute the salmon that comes from five northern California hatcheries. Nearly 70,000 pounds of fish from the recent fall-run Chinook salmon migration were donated.

Here’s why salmon are available for those donations. Returning adult fish that swim hatchery gates and up fish ladders are anesthetized before they are spawned. Anesthesia methods used at CDFW hatcheries include carbon dioxide and electro-anesthesia, which keep these fish safe for consumption. CDFW is careful not to waste the carcasses and has been working with California Emergency Foodlink for more than 20 years.

Solo Flight vs Flocks

Why do some species of birds fly in groups of hundreds – or thousands –while some fly or live seemingly single?

here can be many benefits to living or traveling in groups. Flocks of birds may

gather for longer-distance migration or even shorter-distance local movements. Groups of birds also may assemble during the breeding season with many individual birds nesting in a colony. The main advantages of being an individual bird in a flock or nesting colony have to do with safety and finding food resources. Birds within a flock can help alert others to potential predators and other threats. The more eyes there are, the better it is to detect predators.

Being in a group can also decrease the chance of any one individual within the flock or colony being taken by a predator. The scientific name for this is called the dilution effect, the more bodies there are the lower the chances of being the individual taken by the predator.

bird species that feed on relatively abundant plants or insects, such as waterfowl or small songbirds, it can be beneficial to be in the company of others both for safety and locating food resources.

The primary disadvantage to group living is competition for food and other resources like mates or territory. When a bird must expend a lot of energy to obtain its next meal, such as catching live prey, it can be beneficial to forage alone. For example, many raptors are mostly solitary outside of the breeding season.

extinct around 100 years ago, leaving California with just the one bruin, the black bear that inhabits the entire state.

It can be easy to mistake a black bear for a grizzly bear though, due to the tremendous variation in black bear colors and sizes we have in California. Many black bears in California possess a brown coat just like their larger and more aggressive relatives. In addition to brown, California also has many animals that are black, dark brown, cinnamon and even some that are blonde.

Birds in a flock also can improve foodfinding and wayfinding for other members within the group. For example, snow geese are a migratory bird that breed in the arctic and overwinter in parts of California and elsewhere in the U.S. and Mexico. The juvenile snow geese hatched that season in the arctic breeding colony have never migrated south.

It’s common for juveniles to migrate in family groups with their parents and siblings within the larger flock, which helps juveniles find their way and locate food resources. For

An individual raptor is in direct competition with its neighbor for limited food resources. Catching live prey, such as small mammals and birds, can require high energy expenditure to obtain. Given the high cost of catching the prey, the raptor benefits most from consuming the prey itself without having to share.

Bears in California

I believe that I may have stumbled upon a grizzly bear in California in June of last year. Is that possible? I live in Siskiyou County, near the Oregon state line. In California, the native grizzly bear (Ursus arctos, also known as the brown bear) went

The size of black bears can also vary widely. While most black bear adults are going to be somewhere between 150 to 300 pounds and easy to distinguish from the much larger grizzly adult, there are many more than 300 pounds and some individuals weighing over a whopping 600 pounds, which is heavier than a lot of grizzlies.

Grizzly bears are found today in Alaska, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington and western Canada. Ear shape, shoulder hump, facial profile and claw length are reliable features used by biologists to distinguish between the two types of bear in areas of species overlap. California’s black bear population has increased over the years. In the early ‘80s the statewide population was estimated to be between 10,000 and 15,000 bears. The current population is estimated to be between 30,000 and 40,000. n

Camp Capitola’s 150th Anniversary: Little City Under Canvas

By Deborah Osterberg

Throughout 2024 the Capitola Historical Museum will celebrate the history of Camp Capitola, considered “… the oldest camping ground on the Pacific Coast” and one of the earliest seaside resorts in California. The museum’s new annual exhibition, which opens on March 16, is entitled, “Little City Under Canvas — The 150th Anniversary of Camp Capitola.”

Officially opened by ship carpenter — turned farmer — turned entrepreneur — Samuel Alonzo (S.A.) Hall, on June 18, 1874, the camp was initially located on land he leased from Frederick Augustus (F.A.) Hihn at the base of Soquel Landing wharf (built 1857).

Hall quickly noticed that farm families from the sweltering inland towns of Stockton, Fresno, and San Jose came each summer to pitch their tents along the beach for a cool, refreshing vacation. Hall realized that providing services for the campers could be a lucrative alternative to farming and he began to provide them meals and board their horse teams. Soon he began renting tents and building beach cabins for his growing number of seasonal visitors.

Though Hall left the resort in 1879 when Hihn raised the rent, Hall’s inspiration left a lasting imprint upon the Capitola we know today, including the very name of our community. The new exhibition, which runs through the end

of the year, traces the beginning of Camp Capitola and its evolution from a rustic seaside campground to an elegant coastal resort between 1874 and 1900. Exhibits will show how S.A. Hall got the idea for the resort, what he sold to pay for its establishment, why we believe he named it Capitola, and how he, and later F.A. Hihn, built Camp Capitola into one of the most popular seaside resorts on the West Coast.

The exhibition will also recount the history of the seaside resort idea.

According to his book, The Lure of the Beach — A Global History, Robert C. Ritchie, contends that though the first beach resort dates back to the second century Roman town of Baiae on the Gulf of Naples, it was not until the latter 18th century in England that the lasting concept of the beach as a place of leisure for the masses truly emerged.

In the 1770s, cultural, economic, and social upheavals fostered a broader prosperity in England. This greater economic security, much of which was based upon the financial benefits of slavery, allowed many in the British middle and upper classes the opportunity and the means to enjoy more leisure time. The exhibition follows how the new saltwater cure advocated by 18th century physicians, sparked the creation of the first seaside resorts such as Brighton and Margate.

The salt-water prescription led to the popular practice of surf bathing which was said to cure everything from poor circulation to melancholy. Surf bathing at seaside resorts became an affordable treatment as well as an escape from fastpaced, over-crowded, and increasingly polluted cities.

The new exhibition shows how the seaside resort idea evolved to meet

American needs and tastes and in what ways Camp Capitola followed, or, in what ways it diverged from the model of those first “modern” seaside resorts and how it compared to some of the other early American seaside resorts.

The Camp Capitola story is presented through a large array of historic images, including stereo views which give a three-dimensional view of the camp in the 1870s. Camp Capitola was a lively place. Visitors enjoyed a wide variety of amusements from almost nightly dances and roller-skating parties to sea moss collecting along the beach and fern collecting up Soquel Creek. Groups of campers gathered round beach bonfires nearly every night, playing music and singing. The superior ocean and creek fishing at Capitola drew sportsmen from around the state.

Perhaps one of the most frequent camp activities was to indulge in gossip. Since the time of Jane Austen, seaside resorts were the place of flirtation and escape from societal constraints. According to the Sept. 1, 1892, Sacramento Union “[E] verybody flirts in Capitola, from the machine-like flirtation of the old campaigner to the gushing flirtations of the young folks just from school.”

“Little City” page 27

Canoeing past the Venetian Court, circa the late 1920s.

View of the Venetian Court under construction in 1924.

S.A. Hall

Me First! Passengers Cheat to Board Plane Faster

In the mad rush to get on the plane first, things are getting even madder.

Passengers are finding new — and not necessarily ethical — ways of accessing their seats before everyone else. There’s no prize for being first to board a plane, but lately, it sure seems that way.

I saw it just this morning while I was getting on a flight from Montevideo, Uruguay, to São Paulo. A man with a cane cut to the front of the line, exclaiming, “I have a cane!”

The other passengers yielded, but some of them seemed skeptical that he had a disability and grumbled that he should have just waited his turn. I wondered why he hadn’t pre-boarded with the other disabled passengers.

Sometimes a walking stick isn’t convincing, so passengers who want to board early order a wheelchair. David Kazarian, a retired pharmacist from Tampa, has seen them roll onto the plane early and then walk off the aircraft unassisted after they land.

“It’s a miracle,” he says.

Come on. If there ever was a time to stick to your boarding group, it’s now. Flights will be operating at capacity this spring and summer. Pushing to the front of the line just creates delays. So maybe this is the right time to review what is — and isn’t — allowed when it comes to boarding a flight early.

Why board early?

There are two main reasons travelers want to get on the plane first. Some are excited for their trip to start and they’re anxious to get into their seats.

“Maybe they feel they’ll get there faster if they get on the plane sooner,” says Thomas Plante, a psychology professor at Santa Clara University.

Passengers are also worried they won’t have enough room in the overhead bins for their carry-ons — and that is a legitimate concern.

As airlines have raised their checked luggage fees, more passengers have tried to bring all their earthly belongings on the plane. And the overhead bins are first-come, first-served.

So you have an irrational fear and a rational concern, both conspiring to create a stampede to board first. And it’s gotten bad.

Elite members of airline loyalty programs. — If your card is the color of precious metal, you’ll be one of the first to get on the aircraft. Sometimes, there’s even a red carpet for you to walk across. You also get to board first if you’re a member of a partner airline loyalty program, although you may be slightly lower in the pecking order.

Families with young children. — If you have young kids, especially kids in a stroller, you can board early, too — usually after the elites.

First responders and military personnel. — Thank you for your service.

People with disabilities. — If you’re in a wheelchair, or have mobility problems, or need extra time to get on the plane, you get priority.

Premium credit card holders. — Some credit cards, like the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card, offer early boarding privileges as a benefit.

VIPs. — If you’re a celebrity or a highranking diplomat, you may get to board before everyone else and get off the plane first, too. I experienced a delay once after a minister and his family were let off the aircraft before anyone else.

So, of course, passengers are trying to get ahead of the crowd.

How are people boarding faster now?

Passengers have resorted to new strategies to board faster. Here are some of the most reprehensible ones.

Cutting in line

On smaller regional flights where there are often fewer gate agents, many passengers just go to the front of the line — whether they’re allowed to or not.

“Pushing, shoving, or attempting to cut in line can disrupt the boarding process,” explains Carla Bevins, who teaches business management communication at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. “And it is disrespectful.”

Disability fakers

They’ve always been there, but they’re becoming much more common. Steve Gregory, a radio host from Los Angeles, knows someone who carries an inflatable splint to get early boarding privileges.

As for Mr. Cane in Montevideo, I’m not a doctor, but I can tell you that boarding outside of your group is problematic no matter who you are.

SBy Christopher Elliott

Boarding cheats

P

eople will do anything to get to the front of the line. The jetway has now become a passing lane, where passengers eager to get on the aircraft first are sprinting ahead of others.

Oh, and while we’re on the topic of boarding cheats, how about the guy who pays to board in Group A on Southwest and then “reserves” seats for the rest of his party? (Southwest says it’s OK, but it just doesn’t feel right to some passengers.)

Cutting in line is wrong

Ishould not have to say this, but here it goes: Cutting in line is wrong.

“There’s really no reason for you to try to get on the plane first,” says etiquette expert Adeodata Czink.

But I’m not mad at you. The airlines did this. They’re trying to profit from your fear of being forced to check your carry-on bag or even your fear of missing the flight altogether. And they’ve also managed to create a class of entitled passengers who think they deserve to be first on the plane.

But no one deserves any such thing. Your airline ticket is a guarantee to transport you to your destination. It’s not a reason to lie, cheat, or fake a limp.

Of course, getting on the plane is only half the problem. Who deserves to get off the plane first? But that’s another story.

Elliott’s tips

Need to get on the plane first? Here are some ethical ways of doing it.

Ask. — Instead of brandishing a cane, or an emotional support dog, simply ask the passengers standing in line if you can go first.

(Note: You will have to have a good reason, like, “My family is in the group ahead of us.”)

Buy a seat in first class. — If you absolutely must get on the plane first, buy a seat in first class or business class. You will get on the aircraft early and there will be plenty of room for your carry-on bag.

Who gets to board early?

The problem with trying to board early is that there’s almost always a long line of people ahead of you. Even an 18th-century French aristocrat might have a hard time keeping up with this list:

Airlines know you want to be first to board, so they sometimes sell early boarding privileges. Perhaps the most famous is Southwest Airlines’ EarlyBird Check-In, which starts at $15 and depends on the length of your flight.

Wrong group

ome passengers don’t care if their boarding group hasn’t been called and line up anyway. I’ve seen this, too. Boarding group 3 will be lined up, and a few 4s will try to sneak on early.

The gate agents don’t seem to care — they’re more concerned with getting an on-time departure.

Join a loyalty program. — As much as it pains me to write this, you can join a loyalty program and get on the plane sooner. But bear in mind that it’s exactly what the airlines want you to do — they want your unquestioning loyalty and all of your personal information so they can market to you long after you’re dead. n

•••

Christopher Elliott is an author, consumer advocate, and journalist. He founded Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit organization that helps solve consumer problems. He publishes Elliott Confidential, a travel newsletter, and the Elliott Report, a news site about customer service. If you need help with a consumer problem, you can email him at chris@elliott.org.

Illustration by Aren Elliott

Empowering the Next Generation of Water Professionals

By Rebecca Gold Rubin

As the local water purveyor in Santa Cruz’s mid-county region, Soquel Creek Water District is privileged to witness and contribute to an initiative that’s closely aligned with our agency’s primary goals or development of workforce excellence and community engagement. We are proud to be an educational partner with the local nonprofit Your Future is Our Business (YFIOB) to illuminate the path for our youth toward meaningful careers in water.

YFIOB’s mission resonates deeply with us at the District. They are dedicated to bridging the gap between students and their potential careers by facilitating direct engagement with professionals across various industries. For us, it’s an opportunity to open our doors and share the intricacies of running a water District — operations, customer service, outreach, water efficiency, treatment, and distribution — with the next generation.

we’ve integrated students into our water world. In 2022 the District hosted its first YFIOB high school intern. We provide an up to a semester-long program, in which a student is engaged in project-based work as part of their college and/or career-based exploration. Our student interns perform important and meaningful project tasks, and hands-on work while learning about their local water supply, environmental and economic issues, regulatory guidelines, civics, and local government.

This year, Soquel Creek Water District was awarded the 2024 Community Partner Award by YFIOB and we are incredibly honored. We take pride in recounting the ways

Our Engineering Manager for the past two years has participated in the High School Mentor Program at Diamond Technology Institute in Watsonville. Once a month, from September to May, he meets with 10th grade students and covers topics like goal setting, academic progress, team building, skill building, and future planning. The Mentor Program is a powerful way to introduce students to successful, professional role models who can help encourage them and guide them in their future career path.

We also engage with our youth community by taking part in College and Career

Day events hosted by YFIOB at local high schools, such as Soquel High School, Aptos High School, Watsonville High School, and Pajaro Valley High School.

In addition, we have collaborated with YFIOB as a community partner in conducting Career Readiness Mock Interviews, which are integrated into the Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses offered by the local school district. The primary objective

of these initiatives is to enhance students’ job interview skills, offering them practical feedback from experts in the field.

Other examples from our collaboration with YFIOB:

• Welcoming students to job shadow, where a student follows a District employee for the day

“Next Generation” page 26

The Oscars

25. Federal food safety agency, acr.

28. It ran away with the spoon

30. ROTC happenings

35. Figure skating jump

37. Grad

39. Arrogant one

40. Archaic preposition

41. PassÈ

43. Scrubbed

44. Sugarcoating

46. Money in Mexico City

47. What DJs do

48. Trickery

Leonard Bernstein

23. Nothing

24. White ____ shopping event

50. Swerves

52. Sigma Alpha Epsilon

53. *Typical number of nominations in one Oscar category

55. Emergency responder, acr.

57. *”Nyad” nominee

60. *What kind of moon?

63. “Finnegan’s Wake” author

64. Mother load offering

66. Java cotton tree

68. Artemis’ companion

69. Fat of olives

70. *What actors do

71. Spinner’s product

72. Wisecrack

73. Like Phoenix

DOWN

1. Cornelius of the movies

2. Snap up

3. ‘I’ in Greek alphabet

4. Howard of radio fame

5. Death-related

6. One of the Earnhardts

7. Spermatozoa counterparts

8. Muhammad’s birthplace

9. Review service, with .com

10. Use a ladle

11. At any time

12. *”No Country for Old ____” multi Oscar winner

15. Suitors

20. Trojan War story

22. “Just an ____-fashioned love song”

24. Slumber

25. Fl., as in fl. oz.

26. “A Confederacy of ____,” sing.

27. Place above a ceiling

29. Dueler’s strike

31. Overnight lodgings

32. Shoelace bunny ears

33. Divine saying

34. *Producer and star of “Poor Things”

36. *”The ____ of Interest”

38. Table hill

42. Wooden pin

45. *Like nominated ones

49. Love-love, e.g.

51. Meat-cooking contraption

54. Roaring of an engine

56. Hindu religious teacher

57. Forum, pl.

58. Deed hearing

59. Medical diagnostic test

60. Abe Lincoln’s hat material

61. #20 Down, e.g.

62. Traditional learning method

63. *Da’Vine ____ Randolph

65. Orinoco or Grande

67. *Ryan Gosling’s character

Mackenzie at Santa Cruz Gardens elementary school assembly reading a story about recycling water.

Pisces — Dreams, Radiance, Veils & the Body Electric

“Next Generation” from page 25

We are now under the influence and light of Pisces — the “Light that saves the world,” the sign of World Saviors. Pisces is the last sign of the zodiac, ending the zodiacal year. (Zodiac is Latin/Greek for “circle of celestial creatures,” Pisces being the last of the creatures — the two fishes, connected by a silver cord. The circle of the zodiac is a puzzle with twelve pieces, each lending a level of magic to the individual, to the event, to the world at large.

Pisces gathers all gifts, talents, abilities, transgressions, vicissitudes — all the wonders of the eleven previous signs — and places them in Neptune’s waters where distinctions dissolve, hard edges soften, separative behaviors unite, fuse and blend. All the determined individualities merge into a golden chalice of Oneness. This is the chalice that dropped from Heaven to the feet of Hercules when he undertook the last of the Herculean tasks, the Labour in Pisces.

In Pisces the world begins to dream, humanity becomes more sensitive, hopeful, imaginative, visionary, artistic and musical. Pisces is the sign of the arts, of artists, dancers (Pisces rules the feet), musicians, healers and sinners who eventually, through their sins, become saints. Pisces, like Scorpio, senses what is real and what is unreal.

ARIES

In the next weeks, during Pisces, issues with groups, friends, hopes, wishes, dreams all blend the future with your professional and spiritual life. Everything concerning these realms, if incomplete and not quite in formation yet, will re-appear seeking explanations, forgiveness, re-assessments, reviews and a larger picture of reality. You will feel like you’re on a precipice. Maintain poise within this watery ocean of Pisces. Hold onto the staff of Neptune!

TAURUS

There is a quiet and stillness that you possess which often translates into reticence (not speaking much). This is your signature. However, sometimes the time comes when you must share the information your illumined mind has received. Now is one of those times. If you are Mercury retro (at birth), it’s still the right time to speak. You above all understand life’s mysteries and timings and rhythms (music too). Taurus is Venus, married to Vulcan, who forges the iron of the personality into a chalice of gold. Your information is the gold.

GEMINI

Your eagerness to understand the present time and to have the knowledge that can impart information to others is dependent upon you studying the correct materials. There is a lot of new age information that is not only incorrect but judgmental and filled with glamour. A new level of discrimination begins to appear in your mind. This is most important for you must put all the pieces together now and then share all that you know. It’s almost butterfly season. You are the butterfly in the meadow of information.

CANCER

You will be moving into a deeper level of thought and contemplation. You will even perhaps think about your own and loved one’s death. It is good to do this at times, realizing death is actually a Great Liberation and the “Great Adventure.” If someone you know has died it is good to recite the mantra Ohm Mani Padme Hum. This places them and yourself within a double triangle – a six-pointed star. This is Solomon’s Temple of Light of Love and Intelligence. In between times go over money and resources.

Like Gemini, Pisces is not “of this world.” Instead Pisces resides in the etheric regions, the “body electric,” the subtle non-physical world surrounding form and matter. The plane of the etheric is radiant, permeated with light, color and symphonic sound. Everything is united. This etheric field, surrounding all matter, is where energies enter our body. This etheric field is also how we are all united. It is an ocean of energy (a light substance) and space.

There are steps in Pisces evolution — glamour and confusion, purification and self-control and eventually the intuition develops along with compassion and a sense of surrender (personality to the Soul) in time and space — a surrender of one’s entire life in service to others.

Some Pisces natives experience life on Earth as living in too much radiance. They must veil the radiance with substances that hide, diminish and tone down the intensity. This is usually accomplished through the use of drugs, mind altering substances, alcohol, or in our present day, the use of gaming or becoming lost in technology.

Pisces often suffers. Their suffering leads to their artistic and musical creations and to their healing skills. All of this, all of Pisces is what informs, uplifts, and eventually, “saves the world.” n

LEO

You review past and present relationships, their meaning and purpose. You also might need to consult someone about a professional situation, a need, repair, or for some type of assistance. Another’s response to your ideas, problems, and simple statements made day to day offers you perspective, clarity and clarification. Should there be difficulties in any area of your life, inner review allows for a bit of detachment which leads to dispassion. Do you know what that word means? Remember to stand in the Sun every early morning.

VIRGO

The themes of health and work and service (to self first) continue for you for months to come. Your gift of attention to detail is needed in these three areas of life. Their outcomes have your creative signature on them and this work gives you a sense of purpose. You know that it’s only you who can accomplish what’s properly needed. This isn’t a compliment. It’s a Virgo reality. Another Virgo reality is the rule, from now on, of no more criticism of self or of others. That is a Lenten task.

LIBRA

A mental and emotional withdrawal may occur in the next weeks so you can turn inward and ponder upon past choices you’ve made concerning your family. It is a time of reflection, of evaluating your emotional needs and listening to pressures that have been building within. This focus on the past is important to your present/future. It is time for a change in terms of how you perceive the family. Communication with family and parents can be illuminating. Color your interactions with love.

SCORPIO

You may sense the need to communicate more with others. Your intelligence is activated, you wonder about many things especially what you want in terms of friendships. There seems to be an internal frantic pace of thoughts that cannot come forth into the outer world. It’s not time to externalize new thoughts and ideas. Let them work themselves out naturally. Allow yourself to think on possibilities and reach no conclusions. Listen to others. They have the other half of the information you hold.

SAGITTARIUS

You are still working on internal levels with values – what is of value to you and how you value yourself. The energetic movement within your body is that of external to internal. It may be that some financial and/or business affairs needs tending or you see that you define your resources and values based upon another’s. Great planning is going on within, whether you know this or not. You may have to define yourself to another so they understand you better. Clarity of purpose will be most important.

CAPRICORN

You are experiencing serious thought processes. I am sure you are aware of this influence. It’s Saturn pushing you along, offering tasks that seem to multiply each day. Because of this you may also sound and look serious. This is somewhat temporary. I wish for you an assistant to take over some of your tasks. I also wish for you more rest and relaxation. As you rest, think on the future. Our thoughts create a template for the future, which later on, comes into form and matter. What in your future is most important to you?

AQUARIUS

You are examining your ideas, intentions and present state of being. You are seeing what you accomplished this past year. It was good. You now realize what more you want to accomplish as this new year unfolds. In the coming weeks wherein you reflect on your life, write down all that you hope to fulfill in the next ten months - the first step in externalizing thoughts and ideas. There is much to do this year for Aquarians. They are to bring forth the love embedded in the new culture and civilization.

PISCES

We might find you quietly in solitude for the next several weeks, withdrawing to study or to think on the future and how to work more effectively and efficiently with humanity. And what of all the non-rational elements you’re encountering? We are in a time of great change. Peace and quiet are beneficial for you. Hidden areas of your character are revealed while goals, hopes, wishes and dreams are revealed. You may be thinking about death and mortality. It is a good time to write down how you want your death handled. This is not gloomy. It’s practical and spiritual.

• Presenting at school assemblies and teaching students pre-kindergarten to fifth grade about recycled water

“Our partnership with YFIOB is an important component of our community engagement efforts,” I often say when discussing our initiatives. It’s a statement that reflects our dual commitment to water resource management and educational enrichment.

By guiding students through the complexities of our work, we’re planting the seeds for a future where water is valued and safeguarded by knowledgeable, passionate professionals.

This collaboration isn’t just an investment in students’ futures; it’s an investment in our community’s well-being and the sustainability of our environment. The mentorships and hands-on experiences we offer provide a real-world context that textbooks simply can’t match. It’s about connecting theory with practice, and ideals with action.

Moreover, this initiative underscores our broader dedication to education and community involvement. Through these efforts, we’re not only fostering the next generation of environmental stewards but also emphasizing the importance of collective action in addressing today’s environmental challenges.

As we look forward to the continued success of this partnership, we are filled with optimism about the impact we’re making. Each student who works with us leaves with a deeper understanding of and appreciation for water’s role in our lives. And that’s a victory not just for us, but for the entire community.

Together, we’re nurturing a future where water sustainability is not just a goal, but a reality. n

•••

For those interested in learning more about our work with YFIOB or how to get involved, I encourage you to visit YFIOB’s website at yfiob.org. To learn more about the District visit www.soquelcreekwater.org.

“Little City” from page 23

Around 1888, F.A. Hihn fashioned a tree-lined path upon Depot Hill which followed Grand Avenue along the eastern bluff. The popular scenic and secluded walkway soon became known as Lovers’ Lane or Lovers’ Retreat.

From the beginning of seaside resorts, it was important not only to be seen but to know who else was there to be seen. One of the most popular pastimes was sitting on the beach to watch young ladies wading in “modern very short-skirted bathing-dress …” which some thought scandalous.

”… the whole population of Capitola turns out, and those who do not bathe lie on the sand and ‘take in’ the bathers. The spectators ‘make no bones’ in commenting on dresses (or rather the lack of them), forms, etc. It is quite entertaining to get within hearing distance of a couple whose modesty forbids their donning a bathing dress and listen to their comments on the scantily-robed bathing procession …”

Evening Mail [Stockton], July 16, 1889

The exhibition features historic photographs showing the evolution of Victorian bathing styles including an exhibit of a rare 1880s bathing costume for a lady.

The exhibition follows the changes Camp Capitola underwent from a seasonal tent campground to a year-round

resort of vacation homes and to a growing residential community. The exhibition also explores the stories of some who came to live and work in the camp under limitations and restrictions based upon their race.

This year the Capitola Historical Museum is also celebrating a second anniversary: The 100th anniversary of the construction of the Venetian Court.

Seahorse

Completed in 1924, the colorful Venetian, built in the Mission/Spanish Revival style of architecture, is perhaps the most iconic symbol of Capitola today. The Venetian was part of the modernization of the resort by oil entrepreneur Henry Allen Rispin, who purchased much of Capitola from the daughter of F.A. Hihn in 1919.

This unique cluster of multi-colored stucco dwellings, along the mouth of Soquel Creek, was built upon the former site of the 1870s Italian fishing village at the base of the wharf.

In 1987 the Venetian Court, which consists of both a motel and individually owned units, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places because of its significance in the historical development of the region. Historic images and stories about the Venetian Court will be featured in the museum as well as in rotating exhibits throughout this year at the Capitola Library located at 2005 Wharf Road. n

•••

“Little City Under Canvas — The 150th Anniversary of Camp Capitola” will open on Saturday, March 16, with a public reception from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. A presentation will be given about the history of the Venetian Court by Melanie Shaffer Freitas, author of the book, Venetian Court — Capitola’s Unique & Charming Seaside Resort. Capitola Historical Museum Curator Deborah Osterberg will speak on the history of Camp Capitola. The admission-free Capitola Historical Museum will be open every Friday through Sunday from noon until 4 p.m.

The museum is at 410 Capitola Ave., next to Capitola City Hall. For information, call 831464-0322 or send an email to capitolamuseum@ gmail.com.

Rejuvenate

Sotheby’s

View of early Camp Capitola circa 1879. The reality of a seaside resort with tourist cabins and privies built on the beach did not quite match up to the resort’s image in advertisements.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

OMEGA NU SCHOLARSHIPS

Omega Nu scholarships of $500 to $5,000 are open to students who plan to enroll in a California community college, CSU, UC, or a California vocational school and show financial need.

The Cabrillo Thresher/Ted Bockman Memorial Aquatics Scholarship is open to students who have participated in at least 2 years of varsity swimming or varsity water polo and complete the Thresher/Bockman Addendum.

Applications are at https://www.duckyderbysantacruz. org/scholarship-main-page and are due by March 27.

Renewal applications are also due by March 27.

Email the completed application to ormeganuscscholarships@ gmail.com

NOMINATE ORAL HEALTH HEROES

Due Fri., March 15, Noon.

Nominations are open for the 2024 Oral Health Hero Awards that recognize outstanding commitment to improving oral health for the underserved in Santa Cruz County.

Two awards will be given – one to a dental professional one to a non-dental professional. Recognition of the Oral Health Heroes will be at the Oral Health Summit on April 24. Submit nominations at: https://bit.ly/OralHealthHero2024

COUNTY SURVEY ON AGING

To initiate Age Well Santa Cruz County, a new county initiative, a local survey launched on Jan. 8 to collect community feedback focused on aging. The deadline to respond is March 31.

The survey is supported by a steering committee of engaged community members and outreach efforts to maximize community participation will take place widely. Results from the survey will inform the local master plan goals.

Age Well Santa Cruz County will partner with organizations, businesses, clubs, agencies and individuals throughout Santa Cruz County to ensure as many people as possible participate in the survey.

The survey is online at www.wagewellsantacruzcounty. org and www.buenavejezcondadodesantacruz.org. For questions, email AgeWell@santacruzcountyca.gov

To request a paper survey in English or Spanish call (831) 454-4397.

DEADLINE FOR PG&E SCHOLARSHIPS: MARCH 15

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. will award more than $200,000 to college-bound high schoolers as well as current college and continuing education students living in Northern and Central California.

The scholarships were created by PG&E’s 11 employee resource groups and two engineering network groups, which support diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging.

Scholarship winners will receive $1,000 to $6,000 for exemplary scholastic achievement and community leadership.

The PG&E Foundation will award $350,000 in Better Together STEM Scholarships for students pursuing Science, Technology, Engineering and Math disciplines. There will be 60 scholarships in amounts of $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 awards.

Last year, the foundation upped the number of scholarships from 40 to 60 students. In 2022, eligibility expanded to students admitted to Historically Black Colleges and Universities as well as California colleges and universities. Awards are based on demonstration of community leadership, personal triumph, financial need and academic achievement.

The goal is to give the next generation an opportunity to learn and succeed in higher education and support students who have made an impact in their community or who have overcome personal challenges.

Applications can be found on PG&E’s website at http://tinyurl. com/pge-grants-2024.

STARTUP CHALLENGE MONTEREY BAY

Startup Challenge Monterey Bay is a business competition that supports the founding, funding, and growth of new and innovative businesses in Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito counties.

It offers workshops, feedback, and mentoring.

Last year’s winners were: Friendly Robots (automated commercial vacuum cleaners), venture division, $10,000; Art Abilities, art classes for students with disabilities, social venture, $5,000; Cheeza Jewelry, Main Street division, $5,000; and Bubbly Hill Wines, using AI technology, student division, $1,000.

Deadline to apply is midnight March 4. The qualifying round is April 5, and the Finale and Venture Showcase will be on April 26.

Learn more at startupchallengemb.com. Questions? Email info@ startupchallengemontereybay.com

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SOUGHT

Leadership Santa Cruz County is now hiring an executive director, a part time position with salary commensurate to experience.

The executive director is responsible for carrying out the mission of the organization under the direction of the Board of Directors. Applicants should be familiar with the inner workings of Santa Cruz County’s institutions, its decision makers, and current affairs.

The executive director plans and coordinates the program for each class year and is expected to be active and visible in the community working with other governmental, business, and nonprofit organizations. This position requires strong skills in organizational planning and program development, public speaking, group facilitation skills, budgeting, and knowledge of fundraising strategies and opportunities.

Graduates of Leadership Santa Cruz County or a similar program are preferred.

More than 1,600 individuals have graduated from Leadership Santa Cruz County since it was founded in 1985 to enhance the civic participation of emerging community leaders.

If interested, submit resume to: lmurphy@cityofsantacruz. com with a minimum of three references. More information: leadershipsantacruzcounty.org.

MAH 2024 EXHIBITIONS AND PROJECTS

The Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH) is pleased to announce its exhibition program for 2024, which includes solo and group shows, collaborative partnerships, and the return of its biennial, countywide multi-arts festival. Highlights from the season include: the return of the Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship showcase; a retrospective of renowned landscape painter Richard Mayhew; a group exhibition about Filipino migration and labor in the Pajaro Valley presented with UC Santa Cruz; an exploration of photographic media with Ansel Adams, Norman Locks, Karolina Karlic, Shelby Graham, Binh Danh, and Edgar Cruz; a touring exhibition of works by contemporary Black artists including Ed Clark, Tunji Adeniyi-Jones, Mickalene Thomas,

ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARTY

Sunday March 17

3–6 p.m., Cork & Fork Capitola, 312 Capitola Ave. Cork & Fork Capitola will host a St. Patrick’s Day party featuring performers Schoolcraft and Murray.

Their acoustic music has a groove to make you move.

They blend the best of their many heroes: Lyle Lovett, Carole King, Santana, Robbie Fulks, The Allman Brothers, Steely Dan. No entry fee.

For more information about Schoolcraft and Murray, visit https://www.schoolcraftandmurray. com/info.

Kara Walker, Tavares Strachan, among others; CommonGround, a 10-day festival of outdoor art and performance hosted across the county; and an in-gallery, immersive Afrospeculative experience featuring Bay Area muralists Timothy B, Zoe Boston, and Shogun Shido.

MAH is located at 705 Front St. in Santa Cruz.

ARTS DIRECTOR SOUGHT

Pajaro Valley Arts seeks a dynamic and experienced leader to serve as executive director to advance the mission of the organization: Bringing the Community Together Through the Arts.

PVA has a vibrant exhibit program and blossoming arts education programs housed in a 1,200-square foot gallery. Responsibilities include leading a capital campaign to remodel the Porter Building, a 12,000-square foot community facility in downtown Watsonville (owned debt-free) to expand programming.

The ideal candidate will be a visionary who has outstanding management, development, organizational, and communication skills/experience. Bilingual/Spanish and arts programming experience are highly desirable. This is a part-time (20-29 hours per week) position, with the possibility of becoming full-time as programming expands at the new facility.

The position is at-will, paid hourly and does not include health benefits. The executive director serves at the pleasure of the Board of Directors. Pay commensurate with experience $40-$55 per hour.

To apply, send a resume and cover letter to apply@pvarts.org

COUNTY FAIR BOARD MEETINGS

The Santa Cruz County Fair Board will meet each month in 2024 except September and November.

Remaining dates are March 26, April 23, May 28, June 25, July 23, Aug. 27, Oct. 22, and Dec. 3.

There is no meeting in September or November. Meetings typically begin at 1:30 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday in the Heritage Building at the fairgrounds, 2601 East Lake Blvd., Watsonville.

For agendas, posted 10 days in advance, see santacruzcountyfair.com

ONGOING EVENTS

Ongoing thru May 12

RICHARD MAYHEW: INNER TERRAIN

Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, 705 Front St.

A rare and timely exhibition of the artwork of Soquel artist Richard Mayhew (b. 1924) at the Museum of Art & History, feature works that speak to American arts, culture, and history.

Mayhew blends multiple genres including Baroque landscape, Impressionism, plein-air, Abstract Expressionism, and Color Field painting using mechanisms from each.

Schoolcraft and Murray

He calls his landscapes “moodscapes” as an introspective excavation of the terrain of his mind. This exhibition — guest curated by Shelby Graham and Kajahl — is presented with support from Community Foundation Santa Cruz County and Santa Cruz County Bank.

Mondays BRIDGE CLUB

10:30 a.m.-Noon, 7695 Soquel Dr, Aptos, CA 95003

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

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.

Tuesdays and Thursdays

WALKING ADVENTURE GROUP

9:30-11:30 a.m., Various locations

Walking Adventure Group, offered by city of Santa Cruz Recreation, offers weekly coordinated walks at locations around the county.

Join this group of active seniors for a weekly walking adventure

Walks can be canceled by inclement weather:

Tuesdays: Smell the Roses

Thursday: Walking Adventure Group

To register visit https://www.cityofsantacruz.com/ government/city-departments/parks-recreation/seniorprograms

For more information call 831-420-5180 or e-mail WalkingAdventureGroup@gmail.com.

Second Friday Each Month

NEW BRIDGE GROUP

10:30-Noon, La Selva Beach Public Library, 316 Estrella Ave. Come for bridge on the second Friday of each month from 10:30 to noon at the La Selva Beach library.

First meeting was Oct. 13. Bette Harken, Master Bridge player, will give an introduction for beginners. Call La Selva Library to reserve your seat: 831-427-7710.

Second and Fourth Saturdays

SOQUEL HOMESTEADERS MARKETS: NEW HOME, NEW DAY

11 a.m.-3 p.m., 2505 and 2525 South Main St. parking lots Soquel Homesteaders Markets in in a new location and on a new day and time starting April 13 and active through December 14.

The markets will be in the parking lots across from Soquel business’s Beer 30, Sunny Side Produce, Buzzo Wood Fired Pizza, and Carpo’s.

The Soquel Homesteaders Markets, organized by Jill Troderman of Holistic Family Nutrition, supports vendors of all good things, with a focus on promoting quality, natural, organic, and sustainable foods and products.

There will be vendors of locally grown produce, cottage industry foods, local meats, cheeses, ferments, natural products, homesteaders’ wares, arts and crafts, honey, candles, sweet treats, coffee and tea, health and wellness products, services, and practitioners, healers, spiritual endeavors, nonprofits, schools, plants, flowers, seeds and herbs, jewelry, green living and up-cycled garage sale items.

The Markets will include live music, food trucks, a gleaner’s table with free local produce, and a seed share/ seed bank.

There will also be homesteading classes from 12 - 1 p.m. Find “Soquel Homesteaders Markets” on Facebook.

DATED EVENTS

Saturday March 2

CRAB FEED AT THE FAIRGROUNDS

5:30 p.m., Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake Blvd., Watsonville

The Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds Foundation will once again host its annual Crab Feed.

Tickets are $100 for adults and $50 for children at

https://interland3.donorperfect.net/weblink/weblink. aspx?name=E254765&id=55

FINE PRINTING IN APTOS

11 a.m.-Noon, Aptos Library, 7695 Soquel Drive

“Fine Printing in Aptos: Sherwood & Katharine Carruth Grover and their Grace Hoper Press,” a free talk by Felicia Rice and friends will take place at the Aptos Branch Library, and is sponsored by the Aptos History Museum.

After 25 years working at San Francisco’s Grabhorn Press, Sherwood & Trina Grover retired to Aptos in the early 1960s and continued to produce fine printing in the studio of their Seacliff beach residence.

Here, with equipment from the Grabhorn press, the Grovers operated old-style printing presses and set type by hand to manufacture books under their Grace Hoper imprint to the 1980s.

Learn more about the Grace Hoper Press from Felicia Rice, proprietor of Mendocino’s Moving Parts Press, who will talk about her early association in Santa Cruz with the Grovers and their Grace Hoper Press.

Saturday March 2

Sunday March 3

CABRILLO STAGE AUDITIONS: ‘IN THE HEIGHTS’

Sat: 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | Sun: 1-3 p.m., Crocker Theater, 6500 Lower Perimeter Road, Aptos Come be a part of the music and the magic!

Cabrillo Stage is auditioning for Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit musical, “In the Heights” at the Crocker Theater on the Cabrillo College campus, by appointment only.

All roles are open for actors/singers/dancers age 17 and up. Bring sheet music in your key; accompanist will be provided. Dress ready to move with appropriate shoes as you may be asked to join the dance callback.

More details and frequently asked questions are available online. Schedule an appointment now at www.cabrillostage.com/ auditions

Thursday March 7

SECOND HARVEST FOOD DRIVE AWARDS DINNER

5 p.m., Hotel Paradox, 611 Ocean St., Santa Cruz

Holiday Food & Fund Drive co-chairs Susan True and Dr. Faris Sabbah invite you to their Harvest’s annual Awards Dinner at Hotel Paradox to celebrate the community for raising millions of meals for Second Harvest Food Bank to feed our neighbors experiencing food insecurity.

The Hunger Fighter Award will also be announced. Tickets are $75 per person at app.giveffect.com/campaigns/ 30254-holiday-food-fund-drive-awards-dinner-2024.

Entrée choices are grilled harissa chicken with leek risotto, or butternut squad ravioli with charred baby carrots & broccoli; plus Caesar salad and strawberry champagne cake. Ticket price includes valet parking.

WATER SUMMIT

8:30 a.m.–5 p.m., Cocoanut Grove, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz K&D Landscaping of Watsonville announces the 3rd Annual Central Coast Water Summit, a gathering of experts, policymakers, and stakeholders to discuss and collaborate on sustainable water management strategies at the Cocoanut Grove.

This event is open to landscape & irrigation professionals, contractors, property managers, students, homeowners, HOA boards and curious minds.

Speakers include: Justin White, Kam Brian, DJ Seeger, Max Moreno, and Michael Johnson.

Tickets are free to city and county employees, $35 for CLCA members, and $50 for general public, avialable at https://centralcoastwatersummit.ticketleap.com/kd-central-coast-water-summit/

Friday March 8

Sunday March 22

FREE LEGAL HELP FOR DEBT COLLECTION

10 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Branciforte Branch Library, 230 Gault St., Santa Cruz

TOP DOG FILM FESTIVAL

Saturday March 23

7 pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz

The Top Dog Film Festival stops at the Rio Theatre, allowing dog lovers from all walks of life to experience the enchantment and deep emotional connections shared between humans and their furry friends.

From heart-warming stories to jaw-dropping adventures, this year’s film selection celebrates the bond shared between dog and human.

As an inclusive and family-friendly event, the Top Dog Film Tour provides a welcoming space for dog lovers of all ages.

A Yappy Hour will take place at Sante Adairius Midtown Portal before the show.

Movie tickets are $20 at EventBrite; a portion of sales will benefit the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter.

Information: https://www.riotheatre.com/events-2/2024/03/23/topdog

Senior Legal Services will offer free legal assistance to people harassed by debt collectors at the Branciforte Branch Library

You must be 60 or older, low income and a resident of Santa Cruz or San Benito county to qualify.

Topics include medical debt, Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and legal options.

For an appointment, call 831-426- 8824.

Saturday March 9

STEAM EXPO/FASHION TEENS

STEAM: 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake Blvd., Watsonville, in the Harvest Building Runway Show: 2 p.m., Arts Building

The Santa Cruz County STEAM Science Technology Engineering Arts Math Expo will take place at the Fairgrounds’ Harvest Building., followed by the Fashion Teens runway show in the Arts Building. Awards will be announced beginning at 3 p.m. in the Harvest Building.

The expo will include students with projects competing to advance to state and international competition as well as students showcasing a project, an invention, a Rube Goldberg machine, and club or classroom projects such as robotics or science fiction writing.

This event is presented by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. This year’s coordinator is Heather Wygant, who previously taught a high school science in San Jose, Mountain View and Morgan Hill.

Saturday March 9

Sunday March 10

RISING STARS

10 a.m., 829 Bay Av., Mid-County Senior Center, 829 Bay Avenue, Capitola

Presented by Santa Cruz Bridge Center. Limited/750* Sectional

Home of the Sea Otters, Cypress High School is a public school focusing on small classroom size, inclusivity, and college preparation, serving students in grades 10-12 from all over Santa Cruz County.

Saturday March 16

PVUSD JOB FAIR

10 a.m.-noon, PVUSD board room, 294 Green Valley Road, Watsonville

Pajaro Valley Unified School District will host a Job Fair at the PVUSD board room.

Bring copies of your resume and meet with recruiters. Infomation: 831-786-2145. Visit www.pvusd.net

Thursday March 21

CHAMBER MIXER

5-7 p.m., California Coffee, 9105 Soquel Drive, Aptos

The Aptos and Pajaro Valley chambers will have a networking mixer hosted by California Coffee. There will be beer, wine, coffee, appetizers, music and a raffle.

Price: $5 per person.

Friday March 22

CAPITOLA/APTOS ROTARY FUNDRAISER

5:30-8:30 p.m., Seascape Golf Club, 610 Clubhouse Drive, Aptos Capitola-Aptos Rotary will present a fundraiser at Seascape Golf Club.

The event will honor retiring County Supervisor Zach Friend, retiring County Supervisor Bruce McPherson and County Park Friends.

Proceeds will help to fund the Treasure Cove universally accessible playground at Jade Street Park in Capitola and the Capitola Aptos Rotary community grants program. Tickets are $150 per person. Register at: https://www.eventbrite. com/e/819329545727?aff=oddtdtcreator

Saturday March 23

Entry fee is $15 per person per session. Find information at https://www.santacruzbridge.org

Wednesday March 13 REMARKABLE AI

6-8:30 p.m., Coconut Grove, 400 Beach St., Santa Cruz Santa Cruz Works presents “Remarkable AI” featuring a book signing with Guy Kawasaki (his 16th) and a fireside chat with AI experts at the Coconut Grove.

Expect 15 interactive demos by AI companies like Midjourney and Horizon3. AI, and insights from tech leaders Lila Tretikov and Claire Delaunay.

Sponsored by Santa Cruz Ventures, co-sponsored by Insperity. Tickets are $25. Register at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ remarkable-ai-tickets-815848413567

Thursday March 14

RARE FRUITS TALK

7 p.m., Aptos Grange, 2555 Mar Vista Drive

The Gardeners’ Club will have a free presentation on rare fruits that can be grown in our area by Nate Blackmore, a member of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the California Rare Fruit Growers, at the Aptos Grange.

The public is welcome to attend. For information visit www.thegardenersclub.org or call Cherry at 831 475-0991.

CYPRESS HIGH INFO NIGHT

6-7:30 p.m., Cypress High School, 2039 Merrill St, Santa Cruz Cypress High School presents Family Information Night

KIDS FUN RUN

6:30 – 10:30 a.m., Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, 400 Beach St. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk hosts a Kids Fun Run. There are two races: a 1K for kids 12 and under, and a 5K for kids age 4 and up. (and families).

The fee is $25 for the 1K and $40 for the 5K. Fees go up after Feb. 23.

Sign up at https://runsignup.com/Race/CA/SantaCruz/Boardwalk FunRun

Thursday March 28

SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS WEBINAR

5:30-7 p.m., Online seminar

Interim, Inc. is hosting a free virtual webinar, titled **Leaving a Legacy You Can Depend On: Special Needs Trusts and Your Loved One**.

A question and answer segment follows the presentation.

Speakers:

Yvonne Ascher, Attorney at Law, Noland Hamerly Etienne & Hoss, specialist in estate planning and a member of the America College of Trust and Estates Counsel.

Stephen Dale, Esq., LL.M, The Dale Law Firm, a recognized disability rights advocate and attorney. He focuses on developing estate plans involving persons with disabilities to promote independence, while preserving eligibility for public benefits such as Special Needs Trusts and Limited Conservatorships.

Fiona McDonough, Licensed Professional Fiduciary, president of the Monterey Bay Chapter of the Professional Fiduciary Association of California, and a member of the Monterey County Women Lawyers Association and the Monterey County Bar Association. She is an advocate for children and adults with disabilities.

The webinar is free but registration is required at:

https://specialneedstrust2024.eventbrite.com

For questions call the development officer at Interim, (831) 6494522, ext. 205 or email development@interiminc.org. n

Guy Kawasaki

New Brighton Middle School Field Renovation A Priority

By Scott J. Turnbull, Superintendent, Soquel Union Elementary School District

The New Brighton Middle School Field is in less-than-optimal condition.

None of our school fields is in optimal condition, for that matter. Our students deserve better. Quite honestly, despite a lot of hard work from our staff, the gopher problem is something we haven’t been able to conquer. Therefore, we are prioritizing field enhancements as we look at ongoing facility improvement projects.

We are going to start with the NBMS field. All our students ultimately matriculate to that school. The school boasts an awardwinning physical education team of teachers who deserve a better field to teach their lessons. Our NBMS athletic director coordinates a robust interscholastic sports program supporting our student-athletes with meaningful opportunities.

Fortunately, due to matching state funds from our 2016 General Obligation Bond, Measure C, we have just enough money to make a field at NBMS happen. To pursue renovating the fields at our elementary schools, we will need to find additional revenue streams.

We have gathered input from our NBMS physical education team, athletic director, and principal. We have partnered with a local architectural firm to take that input and design the first vision of our new field.

Fortunately, this same architectural team is the one who created the field at Shoreline Middle School in Live Oak. The field at Live Oak has been a huge success and one our athletic teams look forward to playing on. We want to give them that same opportunity for their home games.

The initial plans for the area include the following:

• Soccer field: 330’ x 195’

• Four sets of bleachers under the solar array

• A scoreboard at the opposite side of the soccer field along the halfway line

Another vital renovation component is our plan to use artificial turf instead of natural grass. The gopher issue is mitigated by the decision to use artificial turf. The quality of artificial turf has come a long way over the years and now has increased shock absorption for increased player safety. The product we plan to implement is called PureFill and includes organic cork granules and sand. Cork is natural, environmentfriendly, and non-toxic.

Our school district wants to ensure the local community is informed about our plans for the NBMS Field. We have presented to our School Board, Capitola City Council meetings, and our district’s Community Forum.

• Practice soccer fields (2): 195’ x 135’

• Jogging track: 3 lanes, 4’ wide lanes

• Sprint 100-meter track: 5 lanes at 42” per lane.

• Multi-ese courts (2) 30’ x 60’ EA (Volleyball and PE)

• Long jump pit, high jump, circuit training

The Community Forum was promoted not just within our parent distribution lists but also on our social media channels, Nextdoor, Santa Cruz Sentinel, and even old-fashioned hard copies dropped off at the houses close to the school in proximity.

While we are in the beginning stages of this project, we don’t want anyone in our community to be surprised when we put the first shovel in the ground at NBMS.

With the significant investment the NBMS field project will require, we will put fencing around the field to protect our investment. The fencing has the added safety benefit of a barrier between Monterey Park and the campus during school hours. School and student use of the field will always be

prioritized. When not being utilized by our school and students, though, we proudly anticipate community use through our facilities use process. It is also important to note that we are working with our partners at the City of Capitola to ensure community access to Monterey Park alongside the back of the field.

The field project at NBMS will be the latest in a series of improvements for our physical education and interscholastic sports programs.

We have added modern locker rooms and a dance studio within the last several years. We also renovated our gymnasium (including a new floor). Another project that will take place within the next six months will be resurfacing our outdoor basketball courts at the school.

Like any project of this magnitude, the NBMS Field Renovation will take some time.

We are currently busy doing all the prep work (and paperwork) to set us up for success. Once we get started on the project, there will be a period in which the field is not usable by anyone. No great construction project comes without a period of inconvenience, as we all know.

We couldn’t be more thrilled to put the plans for the NBMS Field Renovation in motion. It will ultimately be an incredible resource for our students, staff, and community.

One day, when we can secure additional revenues, we can take the field project at NBMS and replicate it at an elementary level at Soquel Elementary School, Main Street Elementary School, and Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary School. n

•••

Scott J. Turnbull is superintendent at Soquel Union Elementary School District.

SCCAS Featured Pet

Meet Nola!

“Staff named me Nola* and I am a spayed female, tan and white Greyhound mix. The shelter staff think I am about 1 year and 1 month old. I have been at the shelter since Feb 24, 2024.”

Nola (#A308745) has been hanging out in a foster home for a week with a couple and their two resident pups.

Her foster parent say the following:

“Nola is a high energy dog, but when she is fulfilled she is calm at home and happy to cuddle.

She will thrive in an active home where she would get walks, runs, and play dates. Nola is friendly and enthusiastic about meeting new people. She will jump up and gently mouth hands, but she’s already learning to make the better choice to sit before getting pets with some positive reinforcement!

St. Pittie’s Party

March 11-17

Visit

https://www. scanimalshelter.org/ saint-pitties-2024/ for details.

She is a social dog and has been comfortable in a small dog daycare setting and really enjoys one on one play. She prefers a game of bouncy chase over rough housing. She’s definitely potty trained, sleeps in a crate throughout the night and has adjusted to the routines of a new home really easily.

This girl is loyal, sweet and goofy. She is the perfect size to potentially be an awesome little adventure partner!”

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. You can also Follow SCCAS on Instagram and/or Facebook to stay up-to-date on shelter news and where to find adoptable pets around town at breweries, stores and events.

Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter’s full-service, open-admission shelter 1001 Rodriguez St., Santa Cruz, 95062 • Hours: Daily 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. 580 Airport Blvd., Watsonville, 95076 • Hours: Tues.-Sat. 9:30 a.m. – noon; 1–5 p.m. (Closed Sun/Mon)

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

International Recognition

Marsha Strong-Smith of Capitola won an Honorable Mention Award from the 11th Abstract International Art Competition hosted by Teravarna Gallery. Her artwork is being displayed, along with other artists, in the winner’s gallery at www.teravarna.com/ winners-2024-abstract-11

The piece she entered, “Bamboo Dream,” is an assemblage of watercolor paintings she cut and glued together using archival adhesive.

“It is a very different style than most artwork but one I enjoy,” she said.

She’s participated in Arts Council Santa

Cruz County’s Open Studios, but this is her first time entering an international juried art competition.

For her, recognition for her artwork is satisfying. n

“Quest Fines” from page 22

Quest agreed to an injunction requiring the company maintain an environmental compliance program, and report progress annually.

“This settlement demonstrates the commitment of my Consumer Justice Bureau to protect the residents of Alameda County against identity theft,” said Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price.

Monterey County will get $328,000.

“This settlement will help ensure that patients’ personally identifiable and private health information is protected and will protect worker safety and human health by ensuring that hazardous and medical wastes are properly managed and disposed of,” said Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine Pacioni.

San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson said, “We are thankful for the cooperation of Quest.”

After being notified of the investigations, Quest Diagnostics made changes to bring its facilities into compliance with California law, according to Bonta.

These included hiring an independent auditor to review the disposal of waste at its facilities and modifying its operating and training procedures to improve its handling, storage, and disposal of hazardous waste, medical waste, and personal health information at all four laboratories including one in Sacramento and more than 600 patient centers in California.

Quest has patient centers in Scotts Valley, Santa Cruz and Freedom. n

•••

A copy of the complaint and proposed stipulated judgment, which details the settlement terms and is subject to court approval, is http://tinyurl. com/quest-fine-complain, and http://tinyurl.com/ quest-fine-stipulate.

Marsha Strong-Smith

Bamboo Dream • Watercolor • Marsha Strong-Smith

Living Water • Watercolor • Marsha Strong-Smith