Capitola Soquel Times: August 2024

White Coats to the Rescue

Story and Photos By Jondi Gumz

Every day, complaints are heard: It takes weeks to get an appointment with a doctor, if one is accepting new patients. Other communities have medical schools, creating a pipeline of new doctors, but there is no medical school in Santa Cruz County.

Now creative people thinking out of the box have a solution:

Eight brand new medical school graduates, doctors in training here in Santa Cruz County for a three-year residency program in family medicine, thanks to Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, president and CEO of Morehouse School of Medicine, and Dr. Nanette Mickiewicz, president of Dignity Health’s Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz. ... continues on page 4

Me and Frank Zappa: 1981

The year was 1981, the city, Santa Cruz. I was working as a baker at Staff of Life Bakery, the hippie health food store in Santa Cruz. I had graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in art. Sculpture was my thing. Full Story page 6

Capitola Branch to Close Sundays Full Story page 7

We hope you enjoyed reading excerpts from Joe Ortiz’ memoir, Pastina—My Father’s Misfortune, My Mother’s Good Soup, serialized in 18 episodes in Capitola-Soquel Times. Full Story page 7

Jury on County Behavioral Health: Many High Cost Patients: Not Enough Money or Staff; More Transparency Needed 12 Police Department Facility Update • Jobs in Santa Cruz County • Legislative Scholarship Winners • Community Foundation Named Non-Profit of the Year

FireSafe Council Breaks the Fire Triangle, By Adam Hensleigh & Michael Horn • Chipping Reimbursement Window Open til Nov. 30 • What is Zone Zero for Protecting Homes from Fire? 27 2024 Wharf to Wharf

Jondi

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COVER STORY

“White Coats” from page 1

Isn’t Morehouse a historically black institution in Atlanta, Georgia?

Yes, it is.

And Dominican Hospital is one of seven sites that are part of the More in Common Alliance, a 10-year commitment between Morehouse School of Medicine and CommonSpirit Health to address healthcare disparities.

So how did this groundbreaking partnership come about?

Dr. Montgomery Rice, who trained in obstetrics and gynecology, told CapitolaSoquel Times it started with a phone call to Lloyd Dean, then president and CEO of Dignity Health, which in 2019 merged with Catholic Health Initiatives and became CommonSpirit Health.

She needed hospitals for her medical school graduates to go for their residency training programs, and her idea was to buy a hospital.

Since her expertise was not running a hospital, she asked Dean if he could loan her a couple of executives.

During the conversation, the two realized they shared goals for equity in health outcomes, diversity in the workforce and serving the underserved.

But instead of loaning out his talent, he suggested offering the opportunity of creating a residency program at one of his many hospitals.

Dr. Mickiewicz was on a Zoom call with other Dignity hospital leaders during the Covid-19 pandemic when the subject came up.

She was the first to raise her hand.

“We’ll do it,” she said.

“You know me,” she told the Times. “Never shy.”

That was three years ago.

Why is a residency program important?

It’s a mandatory step to achieving a license to practice in the U.S.

On July 16, the eight interns — five women and three men — got a warm welcome at a special “white coat ceremony” at the oceanview Hollins House at Pasatiempo Golf Course in Santa Cruz. They are:

• Chrissa Karagiannis, DO

• Stanislava Matejin, MD

• Daniel Bishop, DO

• Dara Lopes, MD

• Farah Tiab, DO

• Francisco Arrieta, MD

• Chris Romo, MD

• Jyotan Sahni, MD

Dara Lopes, DO, a native of Hawaii who speaks Portuguese and Spanish, with interests in functional and integrative medicine, and enjoys cooking fresh spicy food.

Daniel Bishop, DO, who volunteered at Housing for Health, and has interests in addiction and mental health, met his wife at Harbor High School and they enjoy surfing.

Chrissa Karagiannis, DO, who had an osteopathic fellowship, researched stigma reduction, and enjoys crafting and Pilates.

Stanislava Matejin, MD, who is from Serbia and has a master’s degree in public health, and is enthusiastic about horses, yoga, hiking and travel.

Farah Tiab, DO, who has roots in France and Algeria, lives in Santa Cruz with her husband and daughter and enjoys exercise, sushi and beach volleyball.

Francisco Arrieta, MD, from San Diego, who volunteered in Mexico in medical brigades, has an interest in rural towns, and is a fan of the San Diego Padres.

Chris Romo, MD, from Roseville, who worked as a caregiver, volunteered at a Spanish-speaking clinic, and enjoys surfing, cooking and photography.

Jyotan Sahni, MD, who came to the U.S. from India, has worked in a rehab center, and is passionate about holistic medicine, and enjoys spending time with her son, biking, swimming and camping.

Asked how she picked Santa Cruz, Lopes, 35, said she grew up partly in Brazil and then spent 10 years traveling before attending medical school.

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The “White Coats” gather for a group photo.

While residency programs are known for stress and burnout, this one offered work-life balance, which was appealing.

“You can’t pour from an empty cup,” Lopes said.

New doctors get to rank the residency programs, and Rice was especially pleased that this program filled every slot.

“The goal is culturally competent providers,” she said, noting 45 % of residents come back to the community to practice medicine.

Dr. Mickiewicz added the adjective “humble.”

She observed health is not the mere absence of disease but achieving a state of well-being.

Dr. Montgomery Rice read an insightful letter she wrote to her younger self as entering her residency: “Don’t shy away from asking questions... Build lifetime partners and colleagues...Always humble yourself. You don’t have to do this alone. Don’t be too ashamed or arrogant. Lastly, have fun. Burnout is real. ... You will be great -- there is no other option.”

Dr. Rahmelle Thompson, executive director and assistant dean of pipeline initiatives at Morehouse School of Medicine, hopes thousands of residents will follow in their footsteps.

Dr. Veronica Mallett, system EVP, chief administrative officer at CommonSpirit Health, spoke of her dream to eliminate health inequities with a more diverse workforce.

Mickiewicz praised Dr. Greg Whitley, chief medical officer at Dominican Hospital, who was unable to attend, for his efforts to get he residency program started.

About 100 people attended, including

COVER STORY

Dr. Casey KirkHart, chief medical officer of the nonprofit Santa Cruz Community Health, who is site director for the family medicine residency program.

Other partners include locally owned Watsonville Community Hospital and the nonprofit Salud Para La Gente.

Julie Sprengel, president, California Region, CommonSpirit Health, noted CommonSpirit serves one in four people in California. She told the residents, “You chose the best place to come.”

Plans are in the works to create medical residency programs in Bakersfield and Oxnard, she added.

Michelle Johnson-Tidjani, senior

executive vice president and chief administrative officer of CommonSpirit Health, said, “Thank you for stepping up to provide health care for a system that is inclusive, compassionate and just.”

Dr. Mickiewicz, who has been presidentCEO at Dominican Hospital for 24 years, has no plans to retire. Dominican is recruiting for the second class now and she wants to see what happens with this inaugural group of resident doctors in training. n

Cover Photo: Leaders of Dominican Hospital, CommonSpirit Health and Morehouse School of Medicine surround 8 physician interns in the More in Common Alliance’s inaugural family medicine residency program.

Dr. Veronica Mallett and Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice

Dr. Casey KirkHart at the “white coat ceremony.”

Dara Lopes

Me and Frank Zappa 1981

By Wendy Ballen

The year was 1981, the city, Santa Cruz. I was working as a baker at Staff of Life Bakery, the hippie health food store in Santa Cruz. I had graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in art. Sculpture was my thing.

As a work-study job which was part of my college grant, I worked at the coffee shop at Oakes College, where our student housing was. I was famous there for my anatomically correct ginger bread people. The girl cookies had boobs and the boys had, well, you know! The funny thing was that most people just bought the girl cookies.

When I applied for the baker’s job at Staff, Richard, one of the owners, noticed I had a burn scar on my inner wrist. It was the type of burn you get when reaching into the oven to pull out a cookie sheet and accidentally burn yourself on the oven rack. I was hired! In those days we made a lot of wedding cakes, large birthday cakes and anniversary cakes. Since I was into sculpture, I asked the owners if they would sponsor me for a Cake Art Show. They were in! In 1982 and 1983 I had my Cake Art at the Louden Nelson (now called London Nelson) Community Center in downtown Santa Cruz. I spent weeks designing cakes, and 3 days prepping and building them. It was a blast! There was a large Rolls Royce Cake (Bahagwan Rajneesh folks were all over town), a 3-foot E.T. (the movie had just come out), a Geodesic Gingerbread Dome with a gingerbread person doing yoga inside.

In 1981, I came up with a big idea. Frank Zappa, one of my musical heroes, was playing at the Civic Auditorium that weekend. In the spur of the moment, I plotted a scheme. I would make a halfsheet carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, and sculpt Zappa’s face on top. I’d put on my baker’s apron and hat, take

it down to the Civic in a pink baker’s box with a receipt taped to it. I’d go to the back where the roadies would be and pretend someone had ordered the cake.

I had a great time making that cake. I used half eggshells for his eyes, and long strands of black licorice for his hair. I made a pretty good likeness of him, boxed it up and drove down to the Civic Auditorium in my1964 Volkswagen hippie van named Orbit.

I pulled up near the big trucks that carried all the equipment, found a couple roadies and asked, “Who ordered the cake?”

They looked really surprised until I opened up the box and then broke out in big smiles. “Wait here,” they said. They went into the building and returned in a few minutes. They invited me in to a small room in the back, and then walked out.

Frank was sitting at the table with his back to me and his head down. He turned around quickly and faced me. He had a pair of gag glasses that were two stainless steel forks welded together, and he stared at me mischievously through the tines of the forks.

After a minute of small talk, he thanked me for the cake and asked, “Is there anything illegal or immoral in the cake?”

I answered, “Absolutely not, I’m a professional baker from a local bakery.”

His roadies came back in and gave me a pass for the concert (I hadn’t bought a ticket).

I was ecstatic that my scheme was fruitful, and I got to meet one of my favorite musicians. The only thing that made me sad was I never took a photo of that cake. It was the one that got away. n

Wendy Ballen of Capitola is an artist, licensed acupuncturist and Qi Gong instructor. Her Bamboo Art! original paintings and greeting cards are available at Bamboo Giant Nursery in Aptos.

Frank was sitting at the table with his back to me and his head down. He turned around quickly and faced me. He had a pair of gag glasses that were two stainless steel forks welded together, and he stared at me mischievously through the tines of the forks.

Frank Zappa

Wendy Ballen

Coming in September: The Great Escape

We hope you enjoyed reading excerpts from Joe Ortiz’ memoir, Pastina—My Father’s Misfortune, My Mother’s Good Soup, serialized in 18 episodes in Capitola-Soquel Times.

Now he has a new project to share.

Starting in September, Joe will embark on a new serialization of his book-in-progress, The Great Escape—A Guide to Breakthrough Thinking

Whether or not you consider yourself an artist, each installment will show how you can “escape” from prescribed forms of expression into freewheeling creativity.

While a student at San Jose State College many years ago, Joe discovered how working within a conventional form like a poetic rhyme scheme can free up new creative inspiration.

He has since delved deeply into the creative process through his practices of drawing, painting, songwriting, and play production — and, at the same time, has uncovered an abundance of creative tricks of the trade used by such diverse artists as Miles Davis, Claude Monet, Michelangelo, and even Bruce Springsteen. He’ll share with you these well-established methods for accessing the creative spirit and bringing out new expression from our unconscious minds.

A sample of the artist practices discussed in the upcoming issues will explain how:

• Vincent Van Gogh played with different

color combinations for his paintings using a box of multi-colored yarns,

• Henri Matisse used a brush attached to a long pole to create distance from his work and summon up more spontaneous gestures in his paintings,

• William Shakespeare wrote within the strict meter of iambic pentameter, which compelled his mind to escape into the variations that conjured up his most memorable imagery, and

• William Wordsworth wrote poetry inspired by the rhythmic clatter of hoofs and wheels while riding on a horsedrawn carriage through the cobblestone streets of London.

The excerpts will be published in successive installments in the months to come.

Even if you don’t think of yourself as artistic, you can benefit from the methods of artists representing many genres.

The techniques and practices that have inspired artists in their own work can help all of us lead more creative lives. n

COMMUNITY BRIEFS

Capitola Branch to Close Sundays

Starting in August, Capitola Library will once again be open six days a week, closed on Sundays.

While the new Aptos Library was under construction, the Capitola branch served two communities, Capitola and Aptos, so Sunday hours were added.

Once the Aptos Library opened in February, that branch needed its staff back.

The Santa Cruz Public Libraries Joint Powers Authority board agreed to a 6-month pilot project to keep the Sunday hours in Capitola with temporary staff, but long-term funding never developed.

To gather community input, library staff surveyed the public on Saturday, April 6, and Sunday, April 7, which led to the board’s unanimous decision to end Sunday hours in Capitola.

SUMMER

If we paint your interior and/or exterior by August 31, 2024 we will buy the paint.

For library service on Sunday, visit the branch in downtown Santa Cruz.

To view the report, see https://www.santacruzpl.org/files/library_boards/documents/LJPA/ LJPA_2024-05-02_agenda_HqDHfEy.pdf

Asphalt Pump Track Coming in 2025

The city of Capitola aims to upgrade the dirt pump track on McGregor Avenue to modern asphalt pump track, creating a low maintenance recreation amenity.

City Public Works Director Jessica Kahn estimates the cost at $80,000.

Contractors were invited to mandatory site visit last week.

Proposals for this design-build project are due at 5 p.m. Aug. 8.

The city will award the contract on Aug. 22 based on pricing, timetable, design, construction expertise, thoroughness of proposal and life cycle costs over 20 years.

Work is expected to be completed by Dec. 1, 2025.

“Briefs” page 12

Tech Trek Summer Camp for Girls

From July 14 to 19, Tech Trek, a residential summer camp free to 74 California girls, including six locals, took place at UC Santa Cruz, thanks to the American Association of University Women branches that provide sponsorships.

The goal: To encourage 8th-grade girls to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The reason: Only about 27% of professionals working in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are women.

The girls spent time in the biology lab, growing cultures overnight and looking at them under the microscope. They were encouraged to invent something to help differently-abled people. They built threedimensional cityscapes in math class and built motors, cars and flashlights in engineering class.

Camp director Dr. Mimi Isaac said,“One of the most important things that Tech Trek has done over the last 25+ years is exactly what researchers tell us is critical to getting more gender parity in STEM fields: Building that sense of STEM identity and belonging

among a community of like-minded girls and women. Put simply, we become their STEM “tribe,” the place they can explore their geekier side without fear of rejection or worrying about whether they will fulfill the stereotype that women are worse at math. It is really just about building community.”

Highlights:

Electrical Circuits: Dr. Mary Bonk Isaac guiding students in creating light-up greeting cards and 3D paper sculptures using copper tape and LED lights.

Microbiology Exploration: UC Santa Cruz’s Women in Science and Engineering program introducing students to bacterial culturing, microscopy, and staining techniques.

Molecular and Environmental Biology: Students exploring the scientific method through experiments, from studying bacteria to examining butterfly gardens and redwood forests.

Structural Engineering: Professor Rhoxanne Morris from Cabrillo College teaching students to create strong structures, culminating in the “Build It Night.”

The girls were divided into 9 dorm groups and had all week to roll newspapers for this project.

They came to the event with the rolled papers and were given masking tape and scissors with one hour to build. The counselors judged the projects and every group received an award, Best Engineering, Most Unusual, etc.

It wasn’t a contest about how high you could build. It was to be creative — which they were.

One team built a UCSC mascot, the banana slug. Another built The White House with a miniature President Biden at the

podium. Others built a castle tower, a couture dress, a working putt-putt windmill, and a scooter (inspired by the camp director who rode a scooter for most of the week).

“Women are missing out on high-paying, satisfying careers when they don’t consider a STEM profession,” says Doreen O’Donovan, president of the Santa Cruz Branch of AAUW and camp staff. “Middle school is a crucial age when students are still forming ideas about their futures. We’re not just teaching skills — we’re opening doors, challenging stereotypes, and nurturing the confidence these girls need to pursue STEM careers.” n

Eighth graders with the banana slug model they built at Tech Trek summer camp.

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■ Ultra Series windows are covered by the Milgard Lifetime Limited Warranty for peace of mind.

Training for the Unthinkable

Story and Photos By Jondi Gumz

God forbid that a troubled and alienated individual would ever plot to kill students and teachers at one of our high schools.

But if this were to happen, and school staff called law enforcement to report an “active shooter,” our sheriff’s deputies, police officers, state parks officers, and firefighterparamedics would be prepared.

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office organized a six-day training, Monday through Saturday, at the wide-ranging Aptos High School campus to get first responders familiar with the location and peers they would depend on – if the unthinkable did happen.

“Law enforcement are here to stop the attacker, secure the area, then treat the injured,” explained Lt. Nick Baldrige, handgun tucked into his belt, and a 20-year veteran with the Sheriff’s Office.

Officers came from Watsonville, Santa Cruz, and Capitola and firefighter-paramedics from Central, Watsonville and Scotts Valley. The district attorney’s office was represented.

Sheriff Jim Hart took over responsibility for active shooter training from UC Santa Cruz last year.

Baldrige has been in charge since then, organizing training at Scotts Valley High School last year. The previous year, the training site was San Lorenzo Valley High School.

Each campus has a different layout, with buildings spread apart and outdoor educational spaces.

You probably have heard of mass shootings at schools elsewhere: Columbine High School in Colorado, Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Covenant School in Nashville.

“It’s mostly lone wolf attackers,” said Baldrige.

Asked if the July 13 attempted assassination of former President Trump, who is running again, has affected the training, Baldrige said, “Not really” because only one individual was targeted and this training focuses on the potential of a mass shooting, which means three or more people dead.

From 1997-98 to 2021-22, there have been 1,453 school shootings, 794 in the past five years, according to Clemson University researchers who published their analysis in the journal Pediatrics in March 2024.

Researcher Luke Rapa called for schoolbased interventions such as “Multi-Tiered

Fatalities and injuries have increased, researchers observed, noting the resulting trauma for survivors.

Baldrige said the No. 1 priority for law enforcement is to “neutralize the treat” which will save lives.

For Thursday’s training, between 150 and 180 law enforcement officers came with guns and all their gear, along with 15-20 firefighter-paramedics and about 30 volunteers. Instructors wore red T-shirts. Everyone, including the media, wore face shields a la Darth Vader for protection.

When shots — we’re told they are blanks

— were heard, officers jumped to action, running to the location to find the suspect shooter and neutralize.

Screams were heard as teens played the part of the injured.

One young man on the ground bleeding — it was fake blood — was very realistic, calling out “Help me.”

A young woman created a makeshift tourniquet for him as they awaited paramedics.

Some victims were limping as they were led away by officers.

It seemed to take a long time for paramedics to be allowed in, and sheriff’s staff explained that officers are checking every room to make sure no attackers are hiding inside.

That’s why when the officers ran by, they could not stop to help.

A paramedic with a navy backpack labeled “Fire,” did come to help.

Volunteer Liam Adler, 17, will be a senior at Santa Cruz High School, which was targeted in 2022 when a 911 caller reported an active shooter.

Not only was he and his classmates affected, but his mom works at the school.

He’s volunteering for the second time, wanting to give back for the help he got.

“I know how to prepare myself and help the people around me,” he said.

The 2022 call was a hoax, but it prompted a lockdown, with armed officers running from building to building, resulting in extreme stress for panicked parents and students.

The Sheriff’s Office has started a standard response for schools, showing teachers how to safeguard their students.

Local training for law enforcement will take place every year, Baldrige said, adding, “Not everyone does that.” n

Systems of Supports” to bolster students’ mental health.

Lt. Nick Baldrige consults with officer during the active shooter training scenario. Firefighter-paramedic aids victim in active shooter training.

A teen playing the part of the injured is escorted to safety.

Armed law enforcement looking for active shooter during training at Aptos High.

Grand Jury on County Behavioral Health: Many High Cost Patients Not

Enough Money or Staff; More Transparency Needed

The Grand Jury is charged with investigating the budget of one or more of the Santa Cruz County departments. The Grand Jury decided to investigate the budget of the Health Services Agency. The Behavioral Health Division which provides services to address mental health and substance use disorders programs, has the largest single budget. Therefore, HSA’s Behavioral Health Division became the focus of the investigation.

Santa Cruz County Behavioral Health Division struggles to meet the mental health needs of our community. It has neither the fiscal means nor staff resources to adequately do so.

The 2022-2023 Grand Jury report, Diagnosing the Crisis in Behavioral Health, stated: “Santa Cruz has more homeless people per capita than anywhere else in California.” At the time: Some 2,300 of our residents were without housing. An estimated 37% of Behavioral Health clients were homeless. About 67% of homeless residents were expe-

riencing chronic substance abuse, and 43% of Behavioral Health substance use disorder clients were involved with the criminal justice system.

The Behavioral Health External Quality Review revealed that Santa Cruz County has three times the number of high-cost beneficiaries when compared to the state average 2018 through 2020.

These individuals have approved claims of more than $30,000 in a year.

There also are fiscal barriers to providing the types of services and volume of services our community needs.

The fiscal year 2023-2024 budgeted Behavioral Health expenses at 54.9% of the HSA total budget of $259 million. Only 22% is allocated for medical clinical services at County health clinics.

The need for Behavioral Health Services outstrips fiscal resources.

According to the Grand Jury report from 2022-2023, Diagnosing the Crisis in Mental Health, the staff vacancy rate in the Behavioral Health Division was 30%. Hard-to-fill positions included psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses, and licensed mental health practitioners — especially bilingual staff. This year’s interviewees indicated challenges in filling vacancies continue to exist.

All of the above statistics point to a disturbing reality: Santa Cruz County’s Behavioral Health Services, relative to other California counties, is charged with providing mental health services to a substantial, high-need population the County does not have the resources to adequately address.

The objective of this investigation is to determine which of the many County behavioral health programs are the most effective. The approach is to examine

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treatment results and the costs associated with each program.

Investigation

This investigation discusses in detail core issues the Jury has identified as needing to be addressed to meet our community’s growing mental health needs. The Grand Jury believes that if the mental health program issues can be effectively addressed, then the social issues raised by this Grand Jury report and other Grand Jury reports can also be alleviated.

Lack of Data Transparency

Currently, data as presented to the public does not help to allocate the agency’s resources to the most effective program and to populations with the highest need for mental health services. The following are specific areas where there is a lack of data transparency:

“Behavioral Health” page 22

SENIOR BENEFITS INSURANCE SERVICES

“Briefs” from page 7

Police Department Facility Update

This winter, the City of Capitola planned to remodel two Police Department locker rooms facilities at 420 Capitola Ave., Capitola, but no contractors expressed interest by the July 16 deadline.

The budget is $65,000.

“Unfortunately, we did not receive any bids for this project,” said Public Works Director Jessica Kahn. “We were hoping to get a design-bid contractor (who would complete both the architectural and construction work) to have more control over project costs.“

She added, “We are currently working on a design with an architect to then re-bid the project for construction services only. This process will likely take a few months.”

Jobs in Santa Cruz County Sector June 2024 Change from June 2023

Private education & health 19,400 Up 1,200

Government 19,700 Up 600

Leisure/hospitality 15,600 Up 200

Construction 5,300 Up 100 Information 600 0

Financial 3,300 Down 100

Other 4,800 Down 200

Professional/business 9,700 Down 300 services

Trade/transportation/ 15,600 Down 600 utilities

Manufacturing 7,800 Down 200 Nonfarm 101,800 Up 700 Farm

recipients, 20 students from Santa Cruz, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.

Among this year’s recipients is Gina Guzman, a dedicated certificated nursing assistant who found her passion in geriatrics. Her volunteer work at ROTAcare, assisting underserved populations in Monterey County, inspired her to pursue a career in nursing. Despite setbacks, she is now thriving in her nursing studies at Cabrillo College.

Other scholarship winners in Santa Cruz County: Daniel Wellman, attending Cabrillo College, Magaly Ogarrio Munoz, attending Cabrillo College, and Bijan Ghiasi, attending UC Santa Cruz.

“I am incredibly excited to announce the Central Coast Impact Scholarship awardees,” said Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay), chair of the Central Coast Caucus. “These students have shown remarkable dedication to their education and their communities…Supporting their academic journeys is an investment in their futures and the future of our entire region.”

Find the complete list of 2024 Scholarship recipients and how to apply at: www.clccf.org

Community Foundation

Named Non-Profit of the Year Community Foundation Santa Cruz County has been named Non-Profit of the Year by Assembly Member Dawn Addis (D-Morro Bay).

In her newsletter, she explained why.

Unemployment 7,500 Up 8.7%

Unemployment rate 5.6% 5.1%

Count is on the 12th of the month

*Includes commuters out of the county

Source: California Employment Development Department

Unemployment in Santa Cruz County rose to 5.6% in June from 5.1% in May as the labor force shrank by 2,000 compared to two years ago. The biggest job losses are in retail trade, wholesale trade and business and professional services.

Unemployment has topped 5% for the past three months, compared to 17+% in 2020 fueled by pandemic restrictions.

Santa Cruz Toyota in Capitola is looking for a rental car agent, paying $17-$19 per hour.

Dairy Queen in Capitola has an opening for a crew member to work 30 hours a week, Monday-Friday. Pay is

Quality Inn of Capitola is recruiting a part-time front desk agent. Pay is $17-$19 per hour.

In Shape in Capitola has an opening for a part-time custodian, weekends as needed, paying $16.25 per hour.

New Leaf Community Market, which plans to move to the former Lucky grocery location on Bay Avenue in Capitola, needs a fulltime produce clerk, paying $17.55 to $22.20 per hour.

Legislative Scholarship Winners

The California Legislative Central Coast Caucus Foundation announces the inaugural Central Coast Impact Scholarship

“Their efforts and advocacy during last year’s winter storms made a significant impact in our community, reminding us that even in the toughest times, our community can overcome any challenge when we stand together,” Addis said. “I am deeply grateful for their dedication and service to the region.”

Established after the 1982 flood, the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County brings together people, ideas and resources to support effective programs and address community issues. CEO Susan True oversees $226 million in charitable assets and the foundation aids nonprofits through grants, community events and strategic advice.

Kevin Heuer, director of engagement & impact, thanked Addis saying, “It is our community’s extraordinary generosity that enables us to do our work and it powered every aspect of this disaster response. We issued $3.5 million in strategic storm and flood response grants to help from Pajaro to the San Lorenzo Valley. This included $1.3 million in funding to nonprofits offering assistance to residents affected by the Pajaro flood. Neighbors helping neighbors. Because that’s what we do here in Santa Cruz County.” n

Kevin Heuer with Assemblymember Dawn Addis staffer Diego Amaro.

LOCAL SPORTS

Olympic Athletes to Watch: Nikki Hiltz and Dom Parrish

By Jondi Gumz

Locals who watch the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris can keep an eye out for Aptos High School alum Nikki Hiltz, competing in the 1500 meter race. Teammates are Emily Mckay and Elle St. Pierre.

The rules allow 45 athletes to qualify. Heats begin Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 10:05 a.m. Paris time with the repechage round Aug. 7 at 12:35 p.m., semi-finals Aug. 8 at 7:25 p.m. and final Saturday, Aug. 10 at 8:25 p.m.

Faith Kipyegon of Kenya has a world record in this event: 3:49:04.

Hiltz’ best time: 3:55.33 in the Olympic trials in June, becoming he U.S champion.

At Aptos High, Hiltz’ best time — as a sophomore — was 4:26.13.

Tom Hiltz, Nikki’s father, frequently posts updates on Facebook.

Aptos Times has not yet heard of any Olympics watch parties for Nikki Hiltz, but if we do, we will let our readers know.

Hiltz is not the only athlete from Santa Cruz County participating.

Scotts Valley High School alum Dom Parrish, who won a gold medal in the 2022 World Championships, will compete for the U.S. at 53 kilograms.

She is one of 16 wrestlers representing the U.S.

Qualification rounds and repechage rounds in her weight class are scheduled Wednesday, Aug. 7, starting at 11:30 a.m. with another repechage round and medal matches on Thursday, Aug. 8.

Parrish has been training at Beaver Dam RTC in Corvallis, Oregon.

Keep in mind Paris is six hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time and 9 hours ahead of Pacfic time. n

For more times, see https://olympics.com/en/ paris-2024/schedule

Aptos Youth

Chess Tournament Winners

On July 6, the Aptos Youth Chess Tournament brought a lot of brain power to the Aptos Public Library.

Chess master Dana Mackenzie was the tournament organizer and official. He was assisted by Atlee Halderman and Chess Master Gjon Feinstein.

The winners are:

Ages 11 & Older

1) Ethan Burson of Scotts Valley (improved from 2nd last year)

2) Mike Qiu

3) Aiden Greenson, Logan Greenson, & Vaden Barr

Ages 10 & Younger

1) Kaiden Wang of Aptos

2) Paulo Cid

3) Jacky Qiu, Liam Currid, Tor Jensen, Forrest Pilch, & Kai de Mesa n

Dom Parrish Nikki Hiltz

Cabrillo Local Government Fellow Sissi Chavez Garcia

By Jondi Gumz

Sissi Chavez Garcia has been selected as a Cabrillo College Local Government Fellow.

She graduated with honors from Cabrillo this year and will continue her studies as a political science major at UCLA in the fall. She is the first in her family to attend college.

As a Local Government Fellow, Chavez Garcia will receive a $1,000 scholarship, an internship in with the City of Santa Cruz in the summer of 2025, and a mentor.

She said, “I am honored to be selected as a Cabrillo Local Government Fellow. This opportunity will help me discover new roles in local government, and I hope to give back to my community one day. I am very excited to meet new people and learn new skills.”

She has identified three areas of interest: Politics, working with a district attorney, and county clerk.

She also is appreciative of the networking opportunities this program creates.

The Fellows program was created in 2021 by current and former local government leaders throughout Santa Cruz County and the Cabrillo College Foundation. The goal is to encourage and support Cabrillo College students, with preference to those who are the first in their family to attend college, to pursue careers in local government.

Arne Croce, a Cabrillo alum, former city manager and one of the program organizers, said, “Ms. Chavez Garcia exemplifies the student we had in mind when the Fellowship was established: strong academic performance, a motivation to learn and grow, and a passion for local government service. We are grateful for the generous community support which makes this program

possible. We are excited for Sissi and look forward to her future.”

The 2023 Cabrillo College Local Government Fellows, Mateo Donato and Justin Lopez, graduated from Cabrillo this year. Dustin is doing an internship this summer with the City of Scotts Valley and Mateo is doing an internship with the City of Capitola.

Dustin will attend UC Santa Cruz in the fall, and Mateo will attend Cal State Long Beach.

Effective, efficient local government is critical to communities.

Planning, infrastructure, public safety, libraries, parks and recreation, elections management, and health and social services are essential to a high quality of life and robust economy. Developing dedicated, competent, and diverse future local government leaders is key to maintaining the essential services provided by cities, counties, and special districts. n

Sissi Chavez Garcia

FEATURED COLUMNIST

Cliff Drive: The Future

By Kristen Brown, Mayor, City of Capitola

As Capitola nears completion of renovations to our iconic Wharf and has already celebrated the successful repair of the Flume and Jetty, the City is now setting its sights on ensuring that Cliff Drive is maintained for future generations.

• Edibles and Fruit Trees

• Native and appropriate plant varieties

• 2 Acre Display & Sculpture Garden

• Gift Certifi cates

• Family Owned & Operated for 30 Years

The Cliff Drive Resiliency Project aims to address the severe erosion that has plagued the bluffs along Cliff Drive, a vital transportation link between Capitola Village and Santa Cruz County.

In January 2023, major storm events caused significant erosion to the bluff southwest of Hooper Beach, undermining a retaining wall that was installed in the mid-1990s. Recognizing the persistent threat posed by sea level rise and storm surges, the City initiated a study last fall to assess the risks and plan for the future. Community input has also been a crucial part of the planning process. A meeting in February this year allowed residents to discuss potential solutions. Feedback emphasized retaining two-way automobile travel, advancing the project quickly, and improving bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

Efforts to protect Cliff Drive have a long history, with initial measures dating back to the 1960s. Despite these efforts, the storm damage from 2022 and 20223 necessitated a renewed focus on long-term resiliency. To address these challenges, the City secured federal funding to repair the damaged bluff and received $450,000 from the California Coastal Commission for an alternatives analysis. The project needs to be ready for a construction funding request by September 2025.

The Cliff Drive Resiliency Project is guided by a mission to serve the mobility needs of all users equitably, maintain access despite the impact of sea level rise and

increasing storm intensities, reduce traffic impacts to the Jewel Box neighborhood, and safeguard environmental resources.

The City’s goals for this project include:

1) Providing safe access for all users to and from the coastline.

2) Conforming to regional transportation goals.

3) Protecting the roadway from erosion under various sea level rise scenarios.

4) Ensuring construction feasibility with minimal temporary impact.

5) Protecting environmental and cultural resources.

6) Optimizing life-cycle costs.

7) Simplifying permitting complexity.

At our June 27 meeting, the City Council considered three options in moving forward on Cliff Drive: Managed Retreat, Adaptation to Sea Level Rise, or Protection of the Bluff. Faced with the potential loss of roadway and pedestrian facilities, the Council chose to move forward with protection of the bluff, which maintains Cliff Drive in its current location, enhancing it with improved pedestrian and bicycle paths, and installing additional protective measures like a fullfaced soil nail wall and rock slope protection.

A forthcoming feasibility report will include a detailed analysis of existing conditions and various project strategies. Public outreach efforts will continue to ensure that the final decision reflects the community’s needs.

As the City of Capitola moves forward with the Cliff Drive Resiliency Project, we will remain focused on preserving and enhancing our beloved coastal community for future generations. n

Kristen Brown is mayor of Capitola. Email her at thekristenbrown@gmail.com.

How are Your Roads in Soquel?

When the Santa Cruz County Grand Jury investigation in June concluded the condition of roads in unincorporated areas were “deplorable,” Times Publishing Group asked our readers to alert us as to which roads need attention and send a photo, at least 1 MB for good print reproduction.

We heard from readers in Aptos: Mary Lacerte pointed out 260 Rio Del Mar Blvd.

Denise Ward said: Saint Andrews.

Shane Bell said: Sumner Avenue.

Steve Gregori said: 446-449 Monterey Drive.

Nancy Schultz said: Monterey Drive between Bonita and Alta.

Heather Gomez agreed: Monterey Drive. David Casterson said: Valencia School Road.

Maybe the roads in Soquel are better, because we’ve not heard from many of you.

But David Marsh pointed out a chuck hole on Robertson Road near Soquel Wharf Road.

The Santa Cruz Regional Transportation Commission is accepting input for the 2025 Regional Transportation Plan until Aug. 2. The plan talks about safety and maintenance and gives as examples bike lanes, turn lanes, sidewalks, and bus services as future projects but does not mention paving or road repair.

Caltrans, our state transportation department, has millions to spend but those dollars are prioritized for projects to help communities withstand impacts of extreme weather fueled by climate change.

In July, Caltrans awarded $1.37 million for concepts for a proposed zero emission

passenger rail service on the RTC-owned rail line which could be affected by falling bluffs in Capitola and La Selva Beach and $2.2 million to propose a safe evacuation route if the Highway 1 bridge over the Pajaro River is not accessible.

We are still taking suggestions of roads that need attention, and this will be one of the questions we will ask the county supervisor candidates running in the Nov. 5 election. n

To read the Grand Jury report, go to https:// www.santacruzcountyca.gov/Portals/0/County/ GrandJury/GJ2024_final/2024-1_Roads_Report. pdf

County to Ban e-Bikes on Sidewalks

Have you worried about being hit by someone on an electric bicycle taking over the sidewalk?

The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors has voted for a new ordinance specifying that electric bicycles (eBikes) as well as certain motorized vehicles such as mopeds may not be driven on sidewalks in unincorporated areas. The ordinance is expected to return to the Board for a second reading and final adoption on Aug. 13.

Visitors and locals can now tour the county by renting a BCycle, an electric bicycle that has docks in Pleasure Point, Chanticleer Park in Live Oak, Capitola, UC Santa Cruz and the Seymour Discovery Center.

“The adoption of this ordinance signifies our commitment to fostering sustainable transportation options while prioritizing public safety,” Supervisor Manu Koenig said.

“By updating our County code to reflect the evolving landscape of transportation, we’re taking proactive steps to ensure that all residents can safely enjoy our public spaces,” Supervisor Zach Friend said.

Once finalized, the ordinance will prohibit the operation of eBikes on Countyowned sidewalks, unless those sidewalks have been designated as bikeways. “e-Bikes” page 20

Robertson Road in Soquel: A chuck hole near Soquel Wharf Road.

Women of Wellness Give $116,000 to Dominican Hospital

On June 28, Dignity Health Dominican Hospital announced a $116,000 gift from the Women of Wellness Council, a local women’s giving society.

The WoW Council allocated $87,000 in funding with an additional $29,000 in anonymous support.

A program of the Dominican Hospital Foundation founded in 2018, the WoW Council’s purpose is to provide financial resources to support and expand women’s health services at Dominican Hospital. This year marks the sixth round of funding, raising more than $440,000. The WoW Council selected these initiatives:

• Noninvasive Ventilation, Respiratory Therapy — $27,971. Noninvasive ventilation is a technique employed using a mask interface to deliver positive pressure and precise amounts of oxygen to treat respiratory distress associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and pulmonary edema.

• Bioness Integrated Therapy System, Occupational Therapy — $45,390 This new technology is designed for advanced rehabilitation of patients with

visual impairment due to a neurological condition.

• Carts for Fetal Monitors, Birth Center — $8,700. These will help improve nursing workflow and allow easier charting while providing 1:1 care to labor patients.

• Outpatient NICU Nutrition Program, Nutrition — $4,939. An anonymous WoW member gave $4,000 for comprehensive follow-up care for former preemies or babies experiencing nutrition-related issues possibly due to failure to thrive or drug exposure.

• DHMG Oncology Women’s Resources — $5,000. Funded by an anonymous WoW member, DHMG Oncology will create a program for patients with limited income by providing products to support their cancer treatment. The aim is to stock items

typically recommended to patients to alleviate side effects, but are expensive or not covered by insurance.

• Wig Boutique, Katz Cancer Resource Center — $20,000. Fully funded by an anonymous WoW member, this gift will create a beautiful wig room at Dominican’s Katz Cancer Resource Center at the Mary & Richard Solari Cancer Center.

“For more than eight decades, the mission and values of Dominican Hospital have been shaped by visionary female founders and senior leaders,” said Dominican Hospital President Nanette Mickiewicz, MD. “It is only fitting that today, the highly influential women of the WoW Council help carry on the hospital’s legacy of improving patient care now and into the future.”

Council members pledge to donate at least $1,000 annually to support crucial technologies,

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programs, and services for women at Dominican Hospital. The council convenes three times annually to stay updated on women’s health services at the hospital and to hear about new developments from key physicians and care providers.

Council members strive to recognize and understand the requirement for new or enhanced programs, equipment, or facilities, and to build new connections. They then have the opportunity to evaluate project proposals presented by the hospital and vote to decide which proposals will receive funding.

“The WoW Council is a unique opportunity to see your impact locally,” said WoW Chair Anissa Novak.

“With your membership, you choose which departments and services to support which also allows broader access to the hospital. I love learning more about the great work we’re doing in Santa Cruz and feel like I’m part of something bigger. I love this sisterhood.” n

To learn more, call the Dominican Hospital Foundation at (831)462-7712 or visit www.support dominican.org/women-of-wellness-council

10% of profits go back to the community

AG: Private Equity in Medical Systems equals Higher Costs

By Jondi Gumz

On June 6, California Attorney General Rob Bonta led a multistate coalition of 11 attorneys general in submitting a comment letter to the Federal Trade Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services pointing out aggressive profiteering by private equity-owned healthcare systems, which leads to higher healthcare costs, poor healthcare quality, and less access to care for patients.

Private equity-driven consolidation in healthcare has doubled over the last two decades. Research shows that between 2010 and 2020, publicly reported transactions totaled at least $750 billion in deals nationwide to acquire hospitals, physician practices, nursing homes, hospices, and behavioral healthcare.

One local example: American Medical Response, the ambulance company, was sold by Envision Healthcare in 2018 to a KKR private equity fund for $2.4 billion.

Envision Healthcare, which staffed emergency, anesthesiolog, radiology and children’s services in 1,800 clinical departments in healthcare facilities in 45 states, was acquired by KKR for $9.9 billion in 2018 and the debt burden led Envision to file for bankruptcy five years later.

Recent documents reveal that private equitybacked physician practices now control access to over 50% of available healthcare services within specialties and metropolitan areas, according to Bonta.

Superior Court, and the judge declined to dismiss the charges.

In 2023, Dr. Atul Gupta, assistant professor of health care management at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, explained three concerns with health care organizations acquired by private equity firms.

First, these firms primarily use debt to buy the physician practice or hospital, and then this debt goes on the balance sheet of the acquired company – a burden to repay, which can lead to bankruptcy.

Second, these firms make most of their profits when they sell, and they aim to sell in 5-8 years so they look for ways to cut expenses quickly, like reducing staff or selling real estate.

Third, these firms can make a big profit even if the acquired business goes bankrupt.

A 2023 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association based on Medicare claims from 4 million hospitalizations from 2009-2019, compared claims at 51 hospitals owned by private equity and 249 independent hospitals.

Adverse events increased 25% at private equity hospitals compared to control hospitals, with a 27% increase in falls, 38% increase in central line-associated bloodstream infections, and double the rate of surgical site infections. These increases came even as overall surgical volume and central line placements declined.

According to the Lown Institute, the number of private equity buyouts of physician practices increased six-fold from 2012-2021. Private equity firms own at least 386 hospitals, comprising 30% of for-profit hospitals in the U.S.

In 2021, the American Academy of Emergency Medicine-Physician Group filed a lawsuit against Envision Healthcare after Placentia Linda Hospital contracted with Envision subsidiary Premier for emergency department staffing. The Premier contract replaced the local ER Group, which had contracted with the association for management services and dropped the association’s contract when it lost its contract.

The case is ongoing in San Francisco

Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the School of Public Health at Brown University, wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Post pointed out that private equity firms focus on efficiency, so that means fewer employees to carry out protocols designed to safeguard patient safety. “It is not a stretch to connect cuts in staffing and a reduced focus on patient safety with an increased risk of harm for patients,” he wrote.

Jha called for “robust enforcement of antitrust rules” to make market consolidation and monopoly pricing less attractive. He also called upon Medicare to provide more oversight over private equity acquisitions of health-care practices to make sure these deals don’t raise prices or affect quality of care.

“Medical Costs” page 20

COMMUNITY NEWS

Gas Taxes Go Up

Does it seem as if the price of gas went up overnight? It did.

The California gas tax is now 60 cents per gallon, up from 27.8 cents per gallon in 2017.

The California Department of Tax and Fee Administration made the announcement in May that the gas tax increase from 58 cents to 60 cents.

As of June 28, a gallon of gas averaged $4.80 in California, according to AAA.

Gas at Aptos Chevron is $5.19, according to GasBuddy.com, and $4.69 at Coast in Capitola. The price at Aptos Safeway was not available.

Here is a Q & A with the CDFA:

How are the sales and use tax prepayment rates determined?

We calculate the prepayment rate for each gallon of gasoline, aircraft jet fuel, and diesel fuel at 80% of the combined state and local sales tax on the average selling price of the fuel, excluding sales tax, as reported by

“Medical Costs” from page 19

In the letter, the attorneys general cite

industry publications. We are required to establish the sales tax prepayment rates by March 1 of each year.

We may continue to adjust these rates during the year if changes in fuel prices cause fuel retailers to prepay too much or too little tax.

How are the excise tax rates determined?

We are required to adjust the motor

aggressive profiteering by private equityowned healthcare systems.

“We have seen the continuous playbook from private equity groups regarding healthcare purchases: Serving corporate profiteers by maximizing their profits at the expense of access, quality, and affordability of healthcare for Americans nationwide,” said Bonta. “Instead, we need healthcare systems that protect patients and providers from corporate greed. That’s why I, alongside attorneys general across this country, am advocating for enforcement and regulatory action where federal and state governments can collaborate to foster a fair and competitive marketplace that curtails harmful transactions.”

vehicle fuel and diesel fuel excise tax rates on July 1 of each year, based on the percentage change in the California Consumer Price Index, as calculated by the Department of Finance. n

For information, call the Customer Service Center at 1-800-400-7115 open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., except state holidays.

longtime dentist, introduced AB 3129, to give the attorney general oversight of large private equity transactions in health care.

Christina Farr of the Second Opinion blog contends the bill threatens the “captive PC” model used in California to get around the ban on corporate practice of medicine, which means that non-doctors can’t own medical practices or direct medical care.

To eliminate potential anticompetitive practices, the attorneys general advocate:

• Collecting information on organizational structure, quality of care, and enhanced payments to providers that participate in federal and state health programs and making it available to federal and state enforcers.

• Prohibiting participants in federal and state healthcare programs from using anticompetitive contracting practices such as anti-steering of providers.

In February, California Assembly Member Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, a

“e-Bikes” from page 17

To assure the safety of eBike operators, the proposed ordinance includes an exception in limited circumstances to allow eBikes on sidewalks where no pedestrians are present and no bikeway is available.

That legislation has been dramatically amended and referred to the Judiciary Committee.

Wood is not running for re-election.

Hospital workers supported the bill but the California Hospital Association opposed it, with its lobbyist telling the Assembly Health Committee that sometimes private investment is needed to save a struggling healthcare institution.

This year, a new advocacy group, Take Medicine Back, formed. This group at www. takemedicineback.org, is collecting comments on health care consolidation to send to the Federal Trade Commission.

Bonta leads the attorneys general of Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Minnesota, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington, and Washington D.C. n

A copy of the 30-page letter is at https:// tinyurl.com/AG-health-care-profiteering.

Motorists must allow three feet of space if passing cyclists. Youth under 18 are required to wear a safety helmet, and youth under 16 are prohibited under State law from riding Class III eBikes (all Class III eBike users must wear helmets).

Sidewalk rules vary by jurisdiction. n

“Behavioral Health” from page 11

County of Santa Cruz Finance Data: Santa Cruz County’s website has made tremendous strides in improving financial transparency through the OpenGov website which allows the public to view County budgets.

However, it does not allow users to filter down to financial information by individual programs and therefore is not usable for that purpose by the general public. There are no instructions targeted to the layperson on how to use the website or interpret the financial data.

As an example, it is hard to find the exact funding amount the County receives from the Mental Health Services Act, Prop 63. It is not clear where the MHSA funding is embedded.

The 2017-2018 Grand Jury report DataDriven Budgeting – New Ways To Get Better Results stated, “A budget document is more meaningful to the general public when it correlates spending priorities to the public value of services.

The County’s comparative interactive budget tool, while publicly accessible, does not include performance measures or provide a broader performance data dashboard tool that County departments can leverage.”

Budgeting based on performance data is known as “performance budgeting.”

Funding Sources: Funding sources include Medi-Cal, California Mental Health Services Act funds, and County General Fund contributions.

Budget and individual program analyses are challenging due to the mix of funding.

External Providers: Independent health providers such as hospitals and urgent care medical facilities provide services to patients being served by the County.

Data collected by these external providers is not necessarily available to the County BHD. Missing data can skew the calculation of performance metrics.

Root Cause Analysis: None of the officials interviewed could provide a satisfactory answer regarding why Santa Cruz County ranks so high among California counties in the number of high-cost beneficiary patients. No data was available to the Grand Jury for high-cost beneficiaries by zip code.

The BHD does not have enough staff to do a root cause analysis.

County and State Reporting: The HSA data collection required to comply with mandated county and state requirements does not measure the outcome. As an example, the data collected may be by the number of people served by a program. This does not include the number of rehospitalizations or improvements in industry- accepted scores like the Adult Needs and Strengths Assessment.

Metrics Gap: Public access to County contract provider program metrics is limited. Key programs like the Janus Withdrawal Program and County Volunteer Center’s services lack publicly available performance measurements. This makes evaluation of contract-provided program services challenging.

interviewees indicating that this was an example of where costs could potentially be saved.

The Grand Jury was interested in knowing how many such transfers occur and the cost of such transfers. Patients are transferred to out-of-county hospitals when Santa Cruz County is at capacity and has no beds for its patients or does not have available treatment services.

Data from California Health and Human Services shows the distribution of patient transfers sorted by zip codes over the past three years. The zip code of 95076 had the highest number of patient transfers outside the county for the previous 3 years. This indicates that almost 40% of all the transfers occur from one zip code — 95076.

Cost

The County pays 100% of the cost for the care when Santa Cruz County HSA patients are transferred to an out-of-county inpatient facility.

The County does not receive the Federal match for any Medi-Cal out-of-county inpatient care. This is in contrast to health care services provided within the county where the Federal funds match 50% of the Medi-Cal expenses.

The high number of out-of-county transfers takes away funding from healthcare services like mental health and addiction treatment. The relative lack of inpatient health care services especially impacts the residents of 95076, as shown by these statistics. Increased inpatient facilities would reduce out-of-county transfers and associated costs to the county.

The passing of Measure N, a $116M bond initiative for Watsonville Community Hospital, may allow for better healthcare facilities in the 95076 zip code in the coming years. It may not stem the flow of patients needing emergency services in the short term.

Social Determinants of Health

Continuing to build more facilities and providing more healthcare is a stopgap solution. Recent action has been taken by the BoS and the County HSD to improve the situation in the form of a $500,000 CORE Funding allocation for South County Prevention Services.

The County has opened a South Government Services Center, in part for the delivery of these critical services for South County residents.

Prevention is the only way to reduce long term health care costs. Health care activities must include not only treatment of existing health conditions, but also promote health and prevention services that create healthier communities.

The social determinants of health is a more accurate indicator of health outcomes than either genetic factors or access to healthcare services.

This means that things like a person’s income level, education, and neighborhood environment have a larger impact on their health than the medical treatment they receive. To look into the possible drivers of these indicators, the Grand Jury looked at Healthy Places Index® data and Mental Health Index data across zip codes of Santa Cruz County.

Healthy Places Index®

Aproject of the Public Health Alliance of Southern California, the Healthy Places Index® (HPI), is a powerful data and policy platform created to advance health equity through open and accessible data.

This index maps data on social conditions that drive health such as education, job opportunities, healthcare access, and clean air and water.

Higher numbers indicate better healthy community conditions compared to the rest of the California zip codes.

The zip codes 95019, Freedom, and 95076, Watsonville, have the lowest HPI scores in Santa Cruz County. These South County zip codes lag far behind the rest of the County zip codes on socioeconomic indicators for healthy living. This contributes to increased South County healthcare costs.

Another statistic shows that even though 88% of adults residing in 95076 are insured, its percentile ranking is only 31% compared to other California zip codes. This indicates the effectiveness of being “insured.” Being insured by itself does not guarantee better health outcomes if the health services are poor or not available in the area. This is the case for 95076.

The same is true for Preschool Enrollment indicating a very low enrollment compared to other zip codes. California Proposition 1 (2024) is intended to address the socioeconomic indicators related to homelessness. This funding may eventually alleviate the housing, overcrowding and affordability issues in the 95076 zip code, reducing the incidence of mental health cases, hence improving general health outcomes.

Mental Health Index

attention to address these issues and reduce health care costs.

Case Management

Case Management programs provide comprehensive care to patients with complex needs. Santa Cruz County implements this program as Santa Cruz “Enhanced Care Management.”

Santa Cruz County participated in a California pilot program called the Whole Person Care program, which started in 2016 and ended in 2021. It was a grant-funded program to provide case management services to Medi-Cal patients that met multiple needs criteria.

There is evidence that case management programs such as Whole Person reduce costs and provide better outcomes for clients.

Based on this success, the Whole Person Program rolled out as Enhanced Care Management in January 2022. The program allows the providers to charge Medi-Cal for these services.

The Enhanced Care Management programs focus on high-cost beneficiaries requiring high touch service with multiple needs, including mental health services.

The ECM programs provide each client with a lead case manager and each has a community health worker to assess needs. Health services are provided at County clinics. Services include assisting with housing and food needs in addition to mental and physical health support.

Step-down programs manage the transition of clients from treatment to independent living. These programs often involve therapy, skills training, and medication management, all designed to help people transition back into the community successfully. These programs provide connection to both physical and behavioral health services. Managed care services are greatly enhanced with the availability of step-down programs. This will ensure there is a continuous glide path to wellness.

Currently the County step-down services are severely limited. For example, ECM is offered as a new benefit to people released from incarceration as of January 2024.

Currently, ECM is reaching only 0.5% of the eligible ECM residents of Santa Cruz County. There are 300-400 ECM clients currently enrolled countywide.

The Mental Health Index developed by Conduent Healthy Communities Institute is a measure of the social determinants of health correlated with self-reported poor mental health. It identifies areas of high need, requiring targeted interventions.

Out-of-County Transfers

T

he Grand Jury was motivated to look into out-of-county transfers based on

The Grand Jury decided to look at social determinants of health as advocated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks.

The MHI for the zip code 95076 has a rank of 5 indicating “High Need” with respect to socioeconomic indicators Homelessness, Unemployment, Healthcare Access, and Single Parent Household.

In summary, both HPI Index and Mental Health Index of 95076 reveal poor socioeconomic conditions compared to the rest of Santa Cruz County, calling for urgent

The county has five different ECM programs at present. All of them have waiting lists.

A major obstacle to expanding these services is the BHD job vacancy rate of up to 30%.

Additional case managers are needed to meet the patient demand. Case managers with the required experience and licensure are difficult to recruit and these positions often go unfilled for long periods of time.

Providing additional services would have a negligible budget impact because these services are covered by Medi-Cal. The additional services provided by newly-hired case managers will be self-funding and therefore increased services will have negligible budget impact.

BHD is not currently using outcomebased metrics. Doing so will enable them to provide more effective services. Interviews indicated that patients are not typically surveyed for their functional skills and needs (such as done by ANSA). It is important to survey patients at intake, periodically during their time in the program and then finally when they leave the program. Interviewees also mentioned they had considered such surveys but didn’t have the direction or scope to do so.

The RAND corporation had identified parameters for these surveys in its 2018 report.

Despite the potential benefits of Managed Care Services in providing services for our most vulnerable Santa Cruz County residents with the help they need, the challenges with recruiting and funding make our ideal outcomes difficult to achieve.

Conclusion

Santa Cruz has more homeless people per capita than anywhere else in California. A majority of these homeless residents are in need of behavioral health services. Compounding the problem is that the County’s general budget is limited. Santa Cruz County is also an expensive place to live and therefore recruitment of health care providers is a challenge.

Given these facts, Santa Cruz County is facing an uphill battle to provide adequate Behavioral Health Services both in terms of dollars and not having enough personnel.

The Behavioral Health Services owes it to taxpayers to rigorously apply outcomebased metrics to determine which programs give the biggest bang for the buck. The Grand Jury’s preliminary analysis of regional service levels indicates South County residents have limited access to healthcare and lag other areas in socioeconomic indicators. Programs that improve socioeconomic indicators in South County will reduce behavioral healthcare and mental services costs in the long run.

Findings

The Grand Jury wishes to acknowledge the fiscal limitations of Santa Cruz County. The findings and recommendations of this report are made with these fiscal restrictions in mind.

Findings on Lack of Data Transparency

F1. The County budget website lacks HSA Financial data visible to the public to ensure transparency of programs and funding efficacy.

F2. The County has limited staff to analyze the data for identifying trends which would allow focusing resources more effectively.

Findings on Out-of-County Transfers and 95076 Zip Code

F3. Zip code data can pinpoint areas of “High Need,” which can direct data-driven funding for better health outcomes and give a better “Return on Investment.”

F4. The 95076 zip code has an extraordinarily high number of patient transfers to outside the county compared to other zip

codes of Santa Cruz county. This indicates a major lack of healthcare facilities and services to serve the community.

F5. A study of socioeconomic indicators of the 95076 zip code, compared to other zip codes of Santa Cruz county, reveal a dire need to improve the following: ● Homelessness ● Low Preschool Enrollment ● Poor Health Care Access ● Unemployment ● Support for Single Parent Households

Findings about Case Management

F6. The ECM programs are at capacity and have waiting lists. More providers are needed to expand the program further to transition more residents to independent living.

F7. Though there is evidence that managed care programs like ECM are effective, lack of data leaves doubt in the public’s mind. Data supporting the success rate of ECM programs would ensure stronger public support.

Recommendations

R1. The Grand Jury recommends that Behavioral Health Services, in collaboration with the Chief Administrative Office Staff, provide a plan to report program performance on County websites. This plan should include data necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of each behavioral health program, including outcome-based metrics, patient feedback for each program, number of patients served, and financial details like budgeted expenses and revenue sources by program. This plan should be published by Dec. 31.

R2. The Grand Jury recommends that the Board of Supervisors direct the CAO to implement performance budgeting of Behavioral Health Services over the next two-year budget cycle. This was also recommended by the 2017-2018 Grand Jury. The BoS should take this action by Dec. 31.

R3. The Grand Jury recommends that because the 95076 zip code is the area of most need, Behavioral Health Division’s Enhanced Care Management programs should focus efforts on identifying and case managing clients in this area by Dec. 31.

R4. The Grand Jury recommends that

Behavioral Health Services, County Office of Education, and the Board of Supervisors develop and publish a plan, with measurable outcomes, that focuses on improving socioeconomic indicators in the 95076 zip code by Dec. 31.

R5. The Grand Jury recommends that Behavioral Health Services and the Board of Supervisors include an outcome-based evaluation of contracted services through a summary report that is publicly available.

This should be done for all new and renewed contracts by Dec. 31.

Commendations

Fall 2024 Semester begins August 26 Fall 2024 Semester begins August 26

C1. County Behavioral Health Services are to be commended for their dedicated service to the community. They provide compassionate care with limited resources, all while being understaffed. Given the Behavioral Health Services high job vacancy rate, existing resource providers continue to provide exemplary services. n • Continuing

Students

New Students

Dual-Enrolled High School Students

Student Athletes

FireSafe Council Breaks the Fire Triangle

By Adam Hensleigh & Michael Horn

The inaugural Wildfire Resilience Summit on June 6 was hosted by the FireSafe Council of Santa Cruz County in downtown Santa Cruz.

Residents got a comprehensive look at a roadmap to resiliency. The theme was “Break the Fire Triangle.”

Nine speakers gave talks about resilience topics. The Summit also included developing FireTech, and government panels.

Holt Hanley, a meteorologist from KSBW, emceed the event. In between speakers, Holt shared anecdotes from field research projects during his master’s program at San Jose State University’s Fire Weather Research Laboratory.

The FireSafe Council of Santa Cruz County Firewise Coordinator Lynn Sestak gave her “Why Go Firewise” presentation. Lynn illustrated the ease and pathways to becoming a Firewise-certified community. The continually growing program is also a way to convince insurance companies that your community is being proactive and might even get you a discount on the skyrocketing rates.

Santa Cruz County has the seventh most Firewise recognized communities nationwide at 60. Santa Cruz County also ranks fifth in the state for Firewise-recognized communities.

Laura Terrazas from the Santa Cruz County Office of Education discussed their Wildland Firefighting program. The Wildland Fire Academy is a new career technical education offering in 2024. This program really lowers entry barriers and allows affordable opportunities for many young people to begin careers as wildland firefighters.

Matt Abernathy from the Resource Conversation District discussed defensible space. He offered a different perspective, with

humans as ecosystem engineers. Matt also shared landscape-scale management projects, from shaded fuel breaks to burn prep.

David Reid and Clare Peabody from the county Office of Response, Recovery & Resilience discussed what the OR3 does.

Clare promoted the 2020 Recover CA Owner Occupied Mitigation program for individuals who meet income guidelines. Clare also discussed the importance of signing up for CruzAware and knowing your Community Zonehaven evacuation zone.

Cal Fire’s Soquel Demonstration Forest Manager Angela Bernheisel shared what they are doing regarding fire prevention for communities around the demonstration forest. Angela also highlighted a 175-acre sustainable timber harvest plan scheduled for completion this fall. Other projects in the

State Forest included 84 acres of pile burning that was completed earlier this year.

Tim Hyland from State Parks talked about their Wildfire and Forest Resilience Program and the use of fire as a management tool for a positive recovery of the sand hills of Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. He also outlined fire and fuel projects ranging from 50 acres in Ano Nuevo to 1,500 acres in Nisene Marks.

Similarly, Ed Fulton from the Bureau of Land Management discussed their interagency fuels project. The fuels reduction project stretches from Bonny Doon down to Davenport. Collectively, these projects are building on natural buffers to limit and reduce the spread of fast-moving wildfires.

Madronus CEO Ivan O’Neill gave a presentation on the Wildfire Prepared Homes

program. Madronus is a Bay Area company that assesses a home’s vulnerability and advises homeowners on insurance companies’ expectations. O’Neill illustrated his points with science and statistics on home ignitions.

This a point that Phil Dundas, owner of The Landscape Company, affirmed, stating that firescaping was the best way to love -and not fear -- your landscaping.

Pulling back the curtain of nondisclosure agreeements and secrecy, Jake Harris from DBL Partners moderated a panel that featured fireline augmenting robots, remotely operated water-dropping helicopters, and AI tools for evaluating fire risk.

The Summit concluded with a government panel moderated by local Fire Ecologist Michael Horn. The panel included State Sen. John Laird, Assembly member Gail Pellerin, and Supervisor Bruce McPherson. Covering wildfire legislation and other ways the government is helping were the main focus, but Horn pushed them on real actionable items. Laird and Pellerin brought data to the conversation about the efforts to restore insurance coverage for the thousands who have been dropped.

The FSCSCC provided attendees with a full afternoon of inspiration and hope from learning from their own community members who are actively working to make things safer.

The FireSafe Council plans to make this an annual event to help add to the existing wildfire resilience work within Santa Cruz County. The success of wildfire resilience is dependent on scale and capacity, and this event connects people and information to build that resilience to wildfires. n

Chipping Reimbursement Window Open til Nov. 30 What is Zone Zero for Protecting Homes from Fire?

The Resource Conservation District chipping program opens July 25 for Firewise recognized communities and Aug. 1 for other Santa Cruz County residents. Neighborhoods must have at least five participating households who clear defensible space around their homes to be eligible for reimbursement of chipping costs up to $250 per property and $80 per 500 linear feet of private road. Reimbursements will not be accepted for public roads.

Applications close Oct. 31 and all chipping and reimbursement forms MUST be completed and submitted by Nov. 30. Coordinate with your neighborhood and schedule a California licensed contractor to come and chip your material before signing up to ensure you do not miss the 30-day window.

Reimbursements do not include the cost of clearing work or participants’ time. Any contractors hired to chip must be California licensed contractors. There is a $10,000 reimbursement maximum per neighborhood.

Reimbursements for chipping services are available to Santa Cruz County residential neighborhoods , which includes Soquel Hills, Aptos Hills, Scotts Valley and San Lorenzo Valley but not Seacliff or Capitola.

Residents in areas of the Bonny Doon Fire Safe Council or South Skyline Fire Safe Council should sign up for chipping through their Fire Safe Council.

“Chipping” page 31

AB3074, introduced by Assembly Member Laura Friedman, D- Glendale, after the deadliest and most destructive fires in California history in 2017 and 2018, was signed by the governor in September 2020 and affects most of Santa Cruz County. Although Gov. Newsom signed it, he asked the Legislature to remove the mandate so as not to create a costly unfunded mandate.

Here is the legislative counsel’s analysis.

Existing law requires the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire Chief Joe Tyler) to identify areas in the state as very high fire hazard severity zones based on specified criteria and the severity of the fire hazard.

Existing law requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains an occupied dwelling or structure in, upon, or adjoining a mountainous area, forest-covered

land, brush-covered land, grass-covered land, or land that is covered with flammable material that is within a very high fire hazard severity zone, as designated by a local agency, or a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining those areas or lands within a state responsibility area, to maintain a defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the structure, as specified. A violation of these requirements is a crime.

This bill would require a person described above to use more intense fuel reductions between 5 and 30 feet around the structure, and to create an ember-resistant zone within 5 feet of the structure, based on regulations promulgated by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection.

“Zone Zero” page 27

Adam Hensleigh of Mount Hermon, who chairs the local FireSafe Council, introduces Sen. John Laird, Assembly member Gail Pellerin and County Supervisor Bruce McPherson.

FEATURED COLUMNIST

Infrastructure Improvements Ensuring a Reliable and Resilient Water System

By Rebecca Gold Rubin

We are committed to providing safe and reliable drinking water for more than 40,000 customers in the Santa Cruz Mid-County region, including Aptos, La Selva Beach, Opal Cliffs, Rio Del Mar, Seascape, Soquel, and portions of the City of Capitola. This also includes approximately 18,000 jobs, 22 parks, and 18 schools.

We carefully manage the operations of 16 production wells, 10 treatment plants, 14 pump stations, 18 tanks, 166 miles of pipeline, and over 80 monitoring wells. Investment into our infrastructure is a vital component of providing safe and reliable drinking water. Most residents and businesses do not give much thought to the invisible services we provide 24 hours a day, 365 days a year until a water main breaks or they are without water.

Water Main Replacements

Maintaining and replacing District water mains remains a continuous priority because it speaks to the heart of our strategic plan: to maintain a reliable and resilient water system and ensure delivery of high-quality, safe water. Service disruptions stemming from main breaks inconvenience customers and can temporarily impact water service and quality. These unexpected main breaks can lead to water loss while District personnel work to repair them.

improvements include the installation of lowimpact air release vents and fire hydrants. Construction is anticipated to start in 2025.

Capitola Ave Bridge — Because of the CalTrans Highway 1 project that is replacing the Capitola Avenue Bridge, the existing water main was temporarily capped on each side. This allows water service to remain uninterrupted on Capitola Avenue but reduces water system reliability and is temporary to accommodate the work performed

for the CalTrans project. Once the bridge has been rebuilt, the Capitola Avenue water main will be reconnected and is anticipated to begin in late 2025.

Other main replacements that are slated for the future include the Rio Del Mar/Highway 1 Interchange, Mar Vista Drive, and Sumner Drive, as well as assessing the water main that crosses the Stockton Avenue Bridge in Capitola.

“Reliable Water” page 26

Things with Buttons

To keep our system safe, reliable and sustainable, we must consistently fund projects every fiscal year to replace and upgrade aging infrastructure. We have several projects coming up in the next couple of years.

Moosehead Drive — Design work will be finished by the end of this year to replace and upsize an existing two-inch steel pipeline to a six-inch polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipeline within the roadways of Moosehead Drive and Winfield Drive in Aptos. This project will also include replacing a portion of the existing two-inch and four-inch pipelines on Winfield Drive. Replacing this aging infrastructure will provide adequate fire flow capacity to the customers currently served by the Moosehead Drive water main. Proposed above-ground

Leo’s Creative Gifts & the Magic Star Regulus

Esoteric

We rejoice when the Sun enters Leo, sign of the heart of all that matters, sign of the intelligent heart and the heart of intelligence. Leo is the fifth sign of the zodiac, the 2nd fire sign (after Aries). Concerning the heart chakra — in Leo, the energy that has been in the solar plexus (emotional upheaval, separative thinking) has the opportunity to lift itself up to the heart.

This reorients the energy in the body from a downward spiral into more and more matter to an upward spiral of balance, harmony and equilibrium.

The heart is the central balancing point in the body, in between the lower instincts and the higher intuition. When we are focused in the heart, we are able to step upon the Evolutionary Arc which is the path that leads back to heaven, to spirit.

Risa D’Angeles

There is a task for humanity during Leo. We are to focus on our talents, abilities, gifts and aspiration, recognize them and further cultivate them. They are part of our creative identity (“I know myself by recognizing my talents and gifts and what I create.”) and they are and will be needed and called forth to build the new Aquarian culture and civilization.

There is a royal star in Leo called Regulus, the Star of the Magi, the star of Magic called Magha. It is the star of the White Magician whose task is to anchor into the world new rhythms and archetypes that lead humanity to the new era of love, knowledge and freedom.

ARIES

The last full moon Cancer solar festival light created a challenge between home and profession, bringing that duality to light. It calls you to unify and synthesize how you value both realms. Because there are opposite tasks involved for each, one can feel the difficulty of being pulled in two different directions. However, this doesn’t need to be. Things visualized and planned for eventually emerge into a synthesis and integration. Both then seem like a splendid harvest. As you lead, do it with love, or leadership fails.

TAURUS

You’re emerging as a great and important teacher, (Last week’s) Cancer/Capricorn full moon is said to be a time when the true teacher is recognized and thus gratitude is given. The Dalai Lama has said we are to rejoice in the Teacher (and the Teachings). A question — What teachers blessed you with their knowledge, wisdom, love and goodness? Thank them (even if it’s internally). You are to become greater than they. The student is always to surpass the teacher - one of the student’s spiritual tasks.

GEMINI

You are to be sensitive to impressions from higher cosmic realms so you can be introduced to and begin to understand more and more the ancient mysteries. They are embedded in these astrological and esoteric writings. What concerned you prior to the Cancer full moon is now forgotten. Venus, your Soul ruler asks you to list all that you value (things, events, people, behaviors, facts, experiences, etc.). As you see your values in words a greater identity comes forth. Tend to your money and resources with intelligence.

CANCER

To figure out what’s truly important to us, we often have to observe our daily routines. This takes great observational skills. When one is training to be a Montessori teacher, the first task ix observation — in a zoo, on a park bench, in a nursery with babies. Observation is the first level of training for everything. Questions. What are you doing that’s routine each day, this week and month? How do you decide what you accomplish each day? Are your days and nights nurturing for you? Do you provide yourself with the same nurturance, safety and security you provide for others? Careful with communication. You may not be able to hear yourself.

The questions for each of us during Leo are: 1. What is in my heart? 2. What are my talents, gifts and abilities? 3. How can I cultivate them further? And during Leo, the identity of “I am a creator and I identify myself as one. I am regal, I am noble, I am creative!”

Upcoming Aquarian Salon - The next Aquarian Salon, with the summer signs (Cancer, Leo, Virgo), is this Sunday, July 27, 2024 10am (Pacific time). The Theme is The Mother. Everyone is invited. It’s an international conversation on art, astrology, the wisdom teachings, with a gallery and a salon. n Info: https://good-will.ch/pdf/aquariansalon.pdf Telegram: https://t.me/aquariansalon

LEO

Happy Birthday, Leo. It’s the beginning of Sun in Leo. You above all should have a month-long birthday party. Will you have a birthday party this year? Do allow yourself time away from work and responsibilities. Allow yourself interesting study that increases your imagination. You must have time for free play (which you like and need). It creates a soothing respite, offers a sense of comfort and care that sometimes you seek from others (which they are unable to provide). Work in several weeks becomes quite intense. Prepare yourself now with a time of rest and relaxation. Nurture and nourish yourself. Don’t become weary.

VIRGO

So much functions internally within you, and to most this is an unknown factor of Virgo. And so much about you is creative. Perhaps you also don’t quite recognize this. Virgo’s ability to order, organize and tend to things in detail are really fine creative talents. Virgos have great discernment, too. They hold within themselves so many gifts, but they are so often veiled by a sense of subtle expectations, criticisms and that everything must be perfect. Here is a secret. Everything already IS perfect. It’s a state of magic to believe that. Ponder on this statement. Let it permeate your heart and mind. More magic then happens!

LIBRA

So much is in flux, shifting about, changing as you stand with less and less knowable direction. What is shifting is a new state of self-identity, one that calls you to nourish yourself and others more As you change and merge into a new self-awareness, as your home life transforms (perhaps into greater beauty, order, organization?), the structure of your mind, beliefs, and thinking will change, too. What seemed like obstacles appearing in daily life slowly dissipate and melt away Whatever you justify doing, if kindness is not involved, this too will dissolve and melt away. Question. Who loves you the most?

SCORPIO

Are there subtle and ongoing questions on inner levels concerning resources, money and finances and what is available now and in the future? This, at times, causes deep anxiety. It’s good to communicate about these things to those who can listen. Communicating expands our awareness and calms reactions to what seems like continual change. Soon you will feel the need for travel which always offers a hopeful philosophy of life. Plan now for that travel. Not in August (Mercury retro!) but before or after. In the meantime paring down all expenses allows for emerging new and unusual resources to appear.

SAGITTARIUS

It’s good to follow the advice about communication and finances given to Scorpio. This is an important time when you think deeply on how you would want to improve or expand upon any (perhaps all) aspects of how you are in relationships. At times you’re very dedicated, often open and enthusiastic. At other times you can drop down to a middlin’ and static state of being. From heights of achievement and authority to a lack of confidence. These are normal behaviors for everyone. An ebb and flow occurring. Do not pressure yourself in any way. Balance always comes in time.

CAPRICORN

Careful driving, communicating and doing things that demand a clear and focused mind. You are entering a state where your mind and thinking are being refined. At first and at times, veils seem to drop over your eyes. Then your mind feels confused and in other worlds. These are symptoms of mental and emotional refinement. However, you also need to care for yourself, health-wise with a planned regimen of scheduled eating (always breakfast with protein), vitamins and minerals, hydrogenated water, and a diet that is mostly gluten and sugar free. Make this type of food for the entire family. It’s easy to do. These are your new directions.

AQUARIUS

All things cultural call out the best in you, they capture your creative spirit, provide new confidence and realizations and true identity that you are an artist. All that you do brings forth for others new and different perspectives. Many of us don’t realize or understand our great gifts or how we influence others by simply following our hopes, dreams and visions, likes, wants and wishes. Question: What are all of yours? On a practical level, begin and continue to be very disciplined with money, resources and finances. A mantram to help you sleep — “I have all that I need. Everything I need comes to me in right timing. I am grateful.”

PISCES

Home is the best place to concentrate on health and well-being. Focus on preparing the correct foods your body needs, tend to your body’s comforts and accomplish the daily tasks of nourishment and nurturance. Over time, these protect the body. With Saturn and Neptune both in Pisces, your nervous system needs routine, rhythm and structure, as well as a specific and well- defined enclosed space. If sensitive to sounds, take extra magnesium and calcium. Pisces need the deepest care of all the signs. You may be going home again. Learn this time about your heritage.

“Reliable Water” from page 25

Water Reliability with Tank Maintenance, Well Rehab, and Booster Upgrades Much of our water system is nestled throughout our community near homes, parks, schools, and businesses.

On a day-to-day basis, our crews oversee the water production operations through computerized systems as well as frequent site visits. In addition, the District conducts a maintenance program for our groundwater wells, treatment plants, and water storage tanks, which includes replacing pumps, repairing well casings, and recoating the interior and exterior of our water tanks to ensure reliability and maximize the lifespan of our infrastructure.

Reliability and being able to move water through the District is a high priority in case of emergencies. Here are the projects slated for this year:

• Fairway Tank will get recoated

• Aquaview, Fairway, and Seascape Booster Stations will be upgraded

• Estates and Aptos Junior High Wells will get automatic transfer switches Wells and Treatment Plants

• Main Street well will get an electrical upgrade

• Cunnison Way Well will complete the design and begin construction

• Design of Chromium VI Treatment Plant to meet the State’s newly finalized regulations that will go into effect in 2026.

Our commitment to maintaining and improving our infrastructure ensures that we can continue to provide top-tier service to our community. By proactively addressing potential issues and planning for future needs, we strive to prevent disruptions and maintain the quality and reliability of our water supply.

As we progress with these projects, we remain dedicated to transparency, ensuring our customers are well-informed and involved in the process. You can follow our Project in Your Neighborhood web page — https://www.soquelcreekwater.org/284/ Projects-in-Your-Neighborhood — for information as these projects begin.

Thank you for your continued support and trust in the Soquel Creek Water District. n

As always, if you have any questions about this month’s topic, feel free to contact Becca Rubin, the District’s Public Outreach Coordinator, at beccar@soquelcreekwater.org or 831-475-8501 x118 and visit www.soquelcreekwater.org.

We carefully manage the operations of 16 production wells, 10 treatment plants, 14 pump stations, 18 tanks, 166 miles of pipeline, and over 80 monitoring wells. Investment into our infrastructure is a vital component of providing safe and reliable drinking water.

2024 Wharf to Wharf Race

Credit: Aleta Johnson

Did you notice 16,000 people running through Capitola Village on Sunday?

The 2024 Wharf to Wharf Race enjoyed cool-ish weather, perfect for running. Winner Evert Silva, 24, of Fresno, finished in 27:03, earning $4,000 plus a $1,000 bonus for being the top American. Everlyn Kemboi, 28, of Kenya, finished first among women in 30:29, earning $4,000.

“Zone Zero” from page 24

These regulations have not yet been finalized by the state forestry board.

Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime or expand the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a statemandated local program.

This bill would require each local agency having jurisdiction of property upon which conditions that are regulated by the defensible space provisions described above apply and, contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to make reasonable efforts to provide notice to affected residents of the above requirements before imposing penalties for a violation of those requirements.

By expanding the duty of a local agency, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would prohibit the requirement for an ember-resistant zone from taking effect for new structures until the state board updates the regulations, and the guidance document.

The bill would prohibit the department from changing defensible space inspection practices and forms or enforcement to implement the requirement for an emberresistant zone until the director makes a written finding that the Legislature has appropriated sufficient resources to do so.

Existing law requires the department to

develop, periodically update, and post on its internet website a guidance document on fuels management, as provided.

This bill would instead require the state board, in consultation with the department, to develop, periodically update, and post on its internet website the guidance document. The bill would require, on or before Jan. 1, 2023, the state board, in consultation with the department, to update the guidance document to include suggestions for creating an ember-resistant zone within 5 feet of a structure, as provided.

The bill would make the requirement that the state board update the guidance document and promulgate certain regulations contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for these purposes.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state.

This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions.

Existing law requires the Director of Forestry and Fire Protection to identify areas in the state as very high fire hazard severity zones based on specified criteria

and the severity of the fire hazard. Existing law requires a person who owns, leases, controls, operates, or maintains an occupied dwelling or structure in, upon, or adjoining a mountainous area, forest-covered land, brush-covered land, grass-covered land, or land that is covered with flammable material that is within a very high fire hazard severity zone, as designated by a local agency, or a building or structure in, upon, or adjoining those areas or lands within a state responsibility area, to maintain a defensible space of 100 feet from each side and from the front and rear of the structure, as specified. A violation of these requirements is a crime.

This bill would require a person described above to use more intense fuel reductions between 5 and 30 feet around the structure, and to create an ember-resistant zone within 5 feet of the structure, based on regulations promulgated by the State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection, as provided. Because a violation of these provisions would be a crime or expand the scope of an existing crime, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

This bill would require each local agency having jurisdiction of property upon which conditions that are regulated by the defensible space provisions described above apply and, contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for this purpose, the Department of Forestry and Fire Protection to make reasonable efforts to provide notice to affected residents of the above requirements

before imposing penalties for a violation of those requirements. By expanding the duty of a local agency, the bill would impose a statemandated local program.

This bill would prohibit the requirement for an ember-resistant zone from taking effect for new structures until the state board updates the regulations, as specified, and the guidance document described below, as specified. The bill would prohibit the department from changing defensible space inspection practices and forms or enforcement to implement the requirement for an ember-resistant zone until the director makes a written finding that the Legislature has appropriated sufficient resources to do so.

Existing law requires the department to develop, periodically update, and post on its internet website a guidance document on fuels management, as provided.

This bill would instead require the state board, in consultation with the department, to develop, periodically update, and post on its internet website the guidance document. The bill would require, on or before January 1, 2023, the state board, in consultation with the department, to update the guidance document to include suggestions for creating an ember-resistant zone within 5 feet of a structure, as provided. The bill would make the requirement that the state board update the guidance document and promulgate certain regulations contingent upon an appropriation by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act or another statute for these purposes. n

Photo

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

ANNOUNCEMENTS

LIVE YOUR DREAM

Soroptimist International of Capitola-by-the-Sea will launch its search for applicants for its 2025 “Live Your Dream” awards on Aug 15.

Women who are enrolled in or have been accepted into a bachelor’s or a technical training program, are heads of their households and have a demonstrated need are eligible.

Each winner will receive a cash award that may be used to pay for anything they need to help them complete their educational program such as food, rent, car repairs, child care and health care. The Club typically gives five awards to local women.

Therese Malachowski, Live Your Dream program chair, said, “Our winners are typically single moms who want to be able to support themselves and their children and know that a good education makes that possible.”

Deadline to apply is Nov. 15. Applications will be at www. soroptimist.org, click on the “Live Your Dream” logo and review the eligibility requirements and application instructions. Winners will be announced in January 2025 and an awards ceremony will be in March.

See www.best4women.org.

NOV. 5 ELECTION: IMPORTANT INFORMATION

The Capitola City Council has two seats with terms up this year. Incumbent Kristen Brown, serving as mayor, is running for county supervisor, and incumbent Margaux Morgan. So far, three people have pulled papers to run: Gerry Jensen, John Mulry and Melinda Orbach.

Aug. 9: Deadline for candidates to file.

Aug. 9: Deadline for filing tax rate statement for bond measures.

Aug. 14: Deadline to file if incumbent does not run.

Aug. 16: Deadline for filing arguments for or against local ballot measures

Aug. 23: Deadline for filing rebuttals.

Sept. 26: First day to mail County Voter Information Guides.

Oct. 7: First day to mail ballots to all Santa Cruz County registered voters. In-person voting open at two locations.

Oct. 21: Last day to register to vote for the November 2024 election and receive a ballot and voter guide in the mail.

Oct. 26: Three more in-person voting locations open.

Nov. 2: Thirteen more in-person voting locations open.

Nov. 5: Election Day – polls open at 7am and close at 8pm.

Nov. 12: Vote by mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received by Nov. 12 will be counted.

Dec. 3: Last day to certify election results.

SANTA

CRUZ SHAKESPEARE

Santa Cruz Shakespeare, a nationally recognized professional repertory theater, will offer Shakespeare’s As You Like It & Hamlet, Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest and Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie through Sept. 28 under the trees and stars in the Audrey Stanley Grove (The Grove) at Santa Cruz’s DeLaveaga Park. Showtime is 8 p.m.

Hamlet, directed by Susan Dalian opens at 8 p.m. Aug. 2. The Glass Menagerie directed by Charles Pasternak opens at 8 p.m. Sept. 13.

Ticket prices range from $20 to $70 at www.santacruzshakespeare.org.

SECOND HARVEST FOOD BANK WALL OF HOPE

The Wall of Hope is designed to support Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County’s mission of alleviating hunger in our community.

Tiles range from $700 to $2,000. Proceeds support Second Harvest and will be viewed by visitors to the food bank for years to come.

The Wall of Hope is located on the patio, just outside Second Harvest’s main entrance. The tiles

Have a virtual or live event you want to promote? E-mail info (no PDFs please) to info@cyber-times.com For beginning of the month, due the 15th • For mid-month, due the 1st

will be previewed at the Party in the Parking Lot event.

For more information, contact Michele Bassi at (831) 288-3002 or e-mail michele@thefoodbank.org Tiles can be purchased at https://give.thefoodbank.org/ campaigns/32191-wall-of-hope.

BACK TO SCHOOL

Students in the Soquel Union Elementary School District go back to school on Thursday Aug. 8.

This includes Soquel Elementary, Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary, Main Street Elementary, Opal Cliffs, and New Brighton Middle School.

Holidays include Labor Day, Sept. 2, Columbus Day/Indigenous People’s Day Oct. 14, Veterans Day Nov. 11 and winter break Dec. 23 through Jan. 6, with classes resuming Jan. 7. Information: https://www.suesd.org/

USED EV INCENTIVES

On July 1, the Monterey Bay Air Resources District launched the FY 2024-25 Electric Vehicle In-centive Program offering incentives to the public to buy used fully electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Electric vehicles tend to cost more than gas-powered vehicles, so by including used vehicles, the hope is to make the purchase or lease more affordable. The incentives for new vehicles:

• $2500 for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Vehicles

• $1500 for Battery Electric Vehicles

• $750 for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

• $750 for Electric Motorcycles

Incentives for used vehicles:

• $1000 for Battery Electric Vehicles

• $500 for Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles

• $500 for Electric Motorcycles

Richard Stedman, Air Pollution Control Officer for the Monterey Bay Air Resources District, said, “Over 60% of the total emission of NOx (oxides of nitrogen) in the Monterey Bay area comes from motor vehicles. Fully electric vehicles produce zero tailpipe emissions. By encour-aging and incentivizing their use, significant long term air quality benefits can be achieved.”

Incentive amounts are double for qualifying low-income applicants such as those households of four with earnings below $106,240.

Purchase or lease date must be after July 1. Details and applications are at: https://www.mbard.org/electric-vehicleincentive-program

SCLERODERMA SUPPORT GROUP

The Scleroderma Foundation of California announces a new support group for people living in Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.

The Monterey Bay Support Group will bring together individuals with scleroderma, also known as systemic sclerosis, a rare autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and thickening of the skin and other areas of the body.

The support group will be led by volunteers Cheri O’Neil of Live Oak and Annette Rahn of Carmel. The mission of the Scleroderma Foundation of California is to empower patients to live better lives through programs dedicated to support, education, and research.

The support group will start by offering virtual meetings, with the goal of meeting monthly in person at a location convenient for members.

To learn more, email mbsclero@gmail.com. The foundation’s website is www.myscleroderma.org.

SECOND HARVEST NEEDS VOLUNTEERS ASAP

While many enjoy summer vacations, the need for food assistance in the community does not take a break. Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County urgently seeks volunteers to come every Saturday during the summer to help sort and pack food for the next week’s distributions for 65,000 local residents.

About 20 volunteers are needed for each shift every Saturday (so 40 every Saturday) at the food bank’s Watsonville warehouse. The two shifts are:

• Early Bird Shift: 7:45 – 11 am

• Late Riser Shift: 11:15 am - 2:30 pm

No experience is needed, and volunteers can sign up for one or multiple shifts. The minimum age to volunteer is 13. Remaining Dates: Aug. 3, 10 and 17.

To sign up, visit thefoodbank.org or https://tinyurl.com/ SHFB-volunteer, or call (831) 232-8141.

CAPITOLA TWILIGHT CONCERTS

6 p.m. Wednesdays, Esplanade Bandstand, Capitola Village The Capitola Twilight Concerts are back for the summer of 2024.

All concerts take place at the Esplanade bandstand in Capitola Village. These free events are made possible by the generosity of sponsors.

Schedule of bands: Aug 7 Space Heater

SOQUEL HOMESTEADERS MARKET

Second and Fourth Saturdays

11 a.m.-3 p.m., 2505 and 2525 South Main St. parking lots

Soquel Homesteaders Markets is in the parking lots across from Soquel business’s Beer 30, Sunny Side Produce, Buzzo Wood Fired Pizza, and Carpo’s. It will be active through Dec. 14.

RIGHT: Tony Morey of Groundswell Fungi in Live Oak shows off pink oyster mushrooms.

LOWER RIGHT: Pam Larwood of Craft Apothecary at Chick’N Heart Farm in Aptos.

Aug 14

The Inciters Band Aug 21 Cowboys After Dark Aug 28 The Alex Lucero Band

MOVIES AT THE BEACH

The City of Capitola Art & Cultural Commission hosts the 2024 Movies at the Beach. These family-friendly events are offered free thanks to the support from sponsors.

Movies are shown on a large screen on the bandstand in Esplanade Park next to Capitola Beach. Bring blankets and low back chairs. No dogs or alcohol please. Movies start at dusk. This summer:

Aug.30: GREASE

Sept. 20: SHARK TALES

BEGINNING BRIDGE CLASSES

Starts Wednesday, Aug. 7

9:30 - 11:30 a.m., Santa Cruz Bridge Center, 2450 17th Ave. Do you know someone who wants to learn the greatest card game ever?

Bette Harken will instruct Beginning Bridge Classes at the Santa Cruz Bridge Center beginning Aug. 7. First class is free. Following classes $10 each. To sign up: Contact Bette Harken at: bdharken@comcast.net

NEW BRIGHTON VISITOR CENTER OPEN

The New Brighton State Beach Visitor Center and ParkStore is open for the season!

The Pacific Migrations Visitor Center at New Brighton State Beach in Capitola highlights the history of Pacific Rim migrations and how they influenced the Monterey Bay area.

The exhibits explore the contributions of Chinese fishers, who established fishing camps on the Monterey Bay coastline in the 1850s. China Beach, as New Brighton was known, lasted until the mid-1880s. Sooty shearwaters — small, dark seabirds — arrive by the tens of thousands in the summer and fall while gray and humpback whales mi-grate through the region twice a year. Offshore, leatherback sea turtles spend the summer in the Monterey Bay before swimming thousands of miles back to beaches in Indonesia and the Solomon Islands to lay their eggs.

The Visitor Center — supported by Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks — is open from 12-5 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. The Friends ParkStore offers nature and history-themed merchandise and exclusive New Brighton State Beach apparel for sale in-person and on the ParkStore Online. All proceeds benefit local parks and beaches. Parking is $10 and helps Friends support the park.

SOROPTIMISTS RENT CHAIRS AT SHAKESPEARE

Soroptimist International of Capitola-by-the-Sea is renting cushions, beach chairs and blankets on cold nights at all 67 Santa Cruz Shakespeare shows in the Audrey Stanley Grove in Delaveaga Park, 501 Upper Park Road, Santa Cruz, which runs through Sept. 28.

Potential members or others interested in learning more about the Club’s work and activities are invited to visit the rental booth and talk to a member.

Proceeds from the booth are the Club’s major fundraiser and a portion is shared with SCS. Email sicapitola.by.the.sea@gmail.com

Artist Dana Schmidt with her watercolor of the Capitola Venetian.

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

NATIONAL ROLLER COASTER DAY

This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Wednesday, Aug. 7, is the final day for visitors to enjoy the Dipper for the retro price of $1 per ride.

Then, visit on Saturday, Aug. 17, National Roller Coaster Day, and if you’re one of the first 100 riders of the day you will receive a Boardwalk souvenir cup!

ANIMAL SHELTER SEEKS VOLUNTEERS

Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter is seeking volunteers for a clinic hosted by Planned Pethood and Animal Balance to provide 200 animals with low-cost spay/neuter surgeries and other services Aug. 16-18 and Nov. 15-17 at the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter’s “annex” at 2260 7th Ave.

The Animal Shelter needs 10-12 volunteers each day of the event from 8 a.m. until 5-6 p.m. Half-day shifts may be available.

The Shelter needs agile, active folks comfortable working with animals and who can focus well in a busy environment. A positive attitude and teamwork skills are a must.

Bilingual volunteers and those with veterinary or animal experience are especially encouraged to sign up, but all will be provided necessary training.

Volunteers who are not already shelter volunteers should sign up by contacting the Animal Shelter’s Volunteer Coordinator Megan Carroll, at 831-454-7209 or megan. carroll@santacruzcountyca.gov.

Ideally, volunteers would sign up for the same position multiple days in a row to minimize training needs, but this is not a requirement.

Volunteers must provide their own transportation and parking will be limited.

WOMENCARE NEEDS VOLUNTEERS

WomenCare, a nonprofit dedicated to providing free support services to women diagnosed with cancer in Santa Cruz County, needs volunteers. Ways to help: Transportation Assistance (greatest need!): Drive clients to and from their medical appointments, locally and throughout the Bay Area.

Errand Running: Assist with everyday tasks, such as grocery shopping and picking up prescriptions.

Office Assistance (4 hour shift per week): Support clients on the telephone, resource referral for clients, work on special projects, and help with general maintenance of services.

Friends Committee: Help organize the annual Strike Out Against Cancer bowling fundraiser, create annual appeals, assist in other community fundraisers that benefit WomenCare, and help with community outreach.

A cancer diagnosis often results in transportation and logistical challenges. By volunteering, you help alleviate these burdens, allowing local women to focus on their treatment and recovery. Your support ensures that no woman faces cancer alone.

Learn more and fill out an application at https://fsa-cc. org/womencare/volunteer/ Reach out by calling the office 831-457-2273 or email sims.p@ fsa-cc.org

COUNTY FAIR BOARD MEETINGS

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

Remaining dates are 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 September 29

EXHIBIT: TIES THAT BIND

M.K. Contemporary Art, 703 Front St., Santa Cruz

M.K. Contemporary Art presents Ties that Bind featuring

COLOR ME WITH JOY

Maggie Renner Hellman is thrilled that her oil painting, “Color Me with Joy,” is juried into the prestigious 93rd Annual Statewide Landscape Show July 17 through Sept. 15 at the Santa Cruz Art League, 525 Broadway, Santa Cruz. Master juror was Calvin Liang. This Landscape Exhibition showcases the work of artists who depict California’s foothills, mountains, seashores, and deserts of the interior and coastal regions.

A reception for the artists will be 6-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 2, First Friday.

Image: Color Me with Joy by Maggie Renner Hellman

the work of 26 talented local Santa Cruz artists. Each artist is part of a creative couple, united in both their art and their lives.

Exhibiting: Wendy Aikin, Jody Alexander, IB Bayo, Rachel Clark, Tim Craighead, Linda Craighead, Marc D’Estout, Ian Everard, r.r. Jones, Robin Kandel, Bo Kvenild, Terrie Kvenild, Claire Lerner, Jasper Marino, Will Marino, Ann Morhauser, Gayle Ortiz, Joe Ortiz, Beverly Rayner, Taylor Reinhold, Paul Roehl, Beth Shields, Judy Stabile, Lynne Todaro, Margitta Dietrick Welsh, and Stan Welsh.

Artist Reception: 4-6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 10 with First Friday Receptions Aug. 2 & Sept. 6 from 6 to 8 p.m. and an artist talk Sunday, Sept. 15, from 4 to 6 p.m.

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.

First Wednesdays

SONS IN RETIREMENT

Time TBD, Elks Lodge, 150 Jewell St., Santa Cruz

SIR (Sons In Retirement) is a nonprofit, nonpolitical public benefit organization of senior men. The organization’s mission is to enhance the lives of its members through social events while making friends.

The Twin Valleys, Santa Cruz Branch welcomes new members and meets the first Wednesday of each month. Contact Ray Disperati at 831-588-8876 for information.

MIDTOWN SUMMER BLOCK PARTY

5-8:30 p.m., Midtown Square, 1111 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz

Come to the Midtown Summer Block Party every Friday through Aug. 30.

Enjoy food, artists, live music, and vendors at Midtown Square.

Here is the lineup for the rest of the summer.

Aug. 2: Anthony Arya – Opener: TBA

Aug. 9: Cowboys After Dark – Opener: Shawn Yanez

Aug. 16: Ribsy’s Nickel – Opener: The Rayburn Brothers

Aug. 23: Spun – Opener: Dave Miller (Nomad)

Aug. 30: Alex Lucero Band – Opener: Honey Disposition

DATED EVENTS

Tuesday August 6

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT

5-7 p.m., Jade Street Park, 4400 Jade St, Capitola

The Capitola Police Department will host National Night Out at Jade Street Park. The event will feature free BBQ, a meet and greet with the Chief and other police officers, and fun & games for all.

This event promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie, helping make our neighborhoods safer while growing community. The Capitola Police Department will be joined by the Central Fire District and American Medical Response.

National Night Out is a great opportunity to bring neighbors and public safety organizations together in a relaxed and positive environment.

Friday August 9

BREASTFEEDING HEALTH FAIR & WALK

3-5:30 p.m., Watsonville Plaza Park, 358 Main St. (walk begins 5 p.m.) Community Bridges & WIC’s 17th annual Breastfeeding Health Fair and Walk will take place at the Watsonville Plaza Park downtown.

This event, which is open to the public, celebrates World Breastfeeding Week and Breastfeed-ing Awareness Month. Breast milk provides healthy nutrition for babies and children and sup-ports the health of mothers and their children with immune protection and chronic disease-fighting power.

There will be activities for the whole family, a children’s play area, a live DJ, community re-sources, healthy snacks, free t-shirts, raffle prizes, and more.

Also there will be a donor human milk drive, with the Mothers’ Milk Bank San Jose. Information: www.communitybridges.org

PHENOMENON BRUNO GROENING DOCUMENTARY

6:30 p.m., London Nelson Community Center (Room 4), 301 Center St., Santa Cruz

A documentary film, “The Phenomenon Bruno Groening” will be shown at no charge at the London Nelson Community Center. The film features 50 eyewitnesses, many photos, docu-ments and some film footage from 1949.

Bruno Groening gained fame in Germany in the late 1940s as a miracle healer. Prior to this, he was a member of the Nazi Party, and spent several months in a prisoner of war camp. At age 52, he died of cancer.

He devoted his life to reconnecting people with God and ending people’s suffering. Some viewers report feeling a power, a tingling or current in their bodies while watching the film and some have reported the disappearance of pain and other forms of suffering.

Admission is free. Donations are appreciated. The presentation is organized by Bruno Groening Circle of Friends and Circle for Spiritual Aid for Life, Inc. For information, call Lisa Lemucchi at 831-227-0954.

Saturday August 10

SECOND SATURDAY ON THE FARM

11 a.m. –3 p.m., Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds 2601 East Lake Ave., Watsonville

Bring your family, friends and your neighbors to the 2nd Saturday on the Farm event at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds.

The Agricultural History Project’s 2nd Saturday events are like taking a step back in time and this month the theme is Western Day on the Farm.

This will be a day to celebrate the history of agriculture while learning more about what the future holds for agriculture. Kids of all ages will enjoy tractor driving, wooden cow milking and the old-fashioned water pump!

Bring your lunch and enjoy a picnic at tables under the trees or spread a blanket on the grass. This is an event for the entire family!

Admission is free and donations are gladly accepted.

Saturday August 17

CLAWS FOR A CAUSE

2-4 p.m., Watsonville Elks Lodge, 121 Martinelli St. Maine Lobster anyone?

Eventbrite.com now has tickets online for the Watsonville Rotary Club’s 2024 “Claws for a Cause” Maine Lobster ‘Take-Out’ Dinner Fundraiser , at the Watsonville Elks Lodge. You take home in steam pots we provide and cook in just 30 minutes. Tickets are $85 to serve two.

Saturday August 24

RALLY IN THE PAJARO VALLEY SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT

8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Rolling Hills Middle School, 130 Herman Ave., Watsonville

The Community Health Trust of Pajaro Valley, with the City of Watsonville and Pajaro Valley Unified School District, announces the fourth annual Rally in the Pajaro Valley, a fundraising softball tournament at Rolling Hills Middle School

Nonprofits and businesses are invited to put together a team and compete for the title of champion.

Registration is $360. Proceeds will go to support Luna y Sol Familia Center

Deadline to apply: Aug. 16

For information, visit pvhealthtrust.org/rally-in-the-pajaro-valley/ or contact Eli Garnica at egarnica@pvhealthtrust.org

Friday August 30 thru Sunday September 1

SUCCULENT SOCIETY SHOW AND SALE

Portuguese Community Hall, 124 Atkinson Lane, Watsonville Monterey Bay Area Cactus and Succulent Society will present a Show and Sale at the Portu-guese Community Hall, 124 Atkinson Lane, Watsonville. Hours are:

Friday, August 30 open 3-6 p.m. Members only Saturday, August 31, open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Open to all. Sunday, Sept. 1, open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Open to all. Free parking, free admission. Experts on hand to answer your questions! Free demonstrations! Large variety of plants, pots and more available for sale. Amazing specimens in the show for your viewing pleasure.

For information, go to www.mbcss.org or call Mary at 831-2282389 “Calendar” page 31

Fire Season: Do You have 100 Feet of Defensible Space?

By Zach Friend, Supervisor, Second District

Over the last few years our community has experienced weather extremesfrom significant flooding to historic droughts.

According to local fire agencies, the timing of this year’s rains have created grasses and fuels that can be problematic for our region and state. As we are more fully entering the summer season, now is the time to take steps to help protect your homes and businesses from fire risk.

What Steps Can You Take to Mitigate Risk?

There are some things you can do to help protect your home or business from a wildfire or a structure fire. Local and state fire agencies have put together some recommendations on how to get started.

One of the first things is to ensure you have a home emergency plan (and evacuation plan) and practice it with your family. All homes should have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms and at least one ABC-rated fire extinguisher in your home.

Ensuring that the Fire Department can respond quickly also means having visible address numbers on the outside of your home and business (and if you have a sidewalk — along the curb). All homes should be kept clear of combustible debris such as cardboard boxes, rags, paper products,

flammable liquids and fireplaces and wood stoves should be maintained and cleaned and inspected annually.

The topography of Santa Cruz County, and location of homes within the rural areas, means that it’s imperative to create a defensible space around your home. Defensible space is the buffer you create between your home or business and the vegetation that surrounds them to prevent these structures from catching fire. The defensible space can reduce risk to both your home (from fire directly or radiant heat associated with fire) as well as to firefighters using the space to defend your property.

How do You Create a Defensible Space?

California State law requires you maintain 100 feet of defensible space around your home and other buildings on your property.

This is a minimum recommended amount and should be increased if your home is on a steep slope. You can create a defensible space by ensuring that trees are the furthest from your home and that elements less likely to burn (or burn at lower temperatures) such as small plants/beddings/ high water content plants etc are closer to the home.

For the first 30 feet from all buildings, decks and structures you should:

• Remove or mow all dead plants, grass, or weeds.

from your home (extending to at least 100 feet from your home) you should:

• Cut or mow annual grass down to a maximum height of 4”

• Maintain 10 ft clearance around woodpiles

• Thin trees and shrubs and leave big gaps between plants

• Remove dead or dry leaves, needles, twigs, bark, cones, and branches from ground.

How Can You Get More Information?

• Create paved or gravel driveways, walkways, patios as firebreaks

• Remove dead or dry leaves and needles from yard, roof, and gutters.

• Trim trees regularly and maintain a minimum of 10’ between canopies.

• Remove branches that overhang your roof and any dead branches close to chimney.

• Remove flammable items near any structure

For the next 70+ feet

The Central Fire Protection District website — https://www.centralfiresc.org — contains preparedness information on defensible space, general fire prevention and a smoke alarm program where Central Fire personnel provide and install smoke and carbon monoxide alarms for the District’s senior citizens and low income residents (click on the “education and preparedness”

tab on their website or call their Community Risk Reduction Division at (831) 685-6698).

Fire Safe Santa Cruz County also maintains a comprehensive site with downloadable fact sheets and videos on how to prepare your home or business www.firesafesantacruz.org (click on the “education” tab on their website).

Lastly, the County’s OR3 website has a resources link with a lot of valuable information: https://www.santacruzcountyca. gov/OR3.aspx (click on the “plan and prepare” tab under “response”).

•••

As always, I appreciate any feedback you may have on this (or any other County issue).

I’m maintaining regular updates on social media at www.facebook.com/supervisorfriend and you can always call me at 454-2200.

~~~

Courtesy of www.centralfiresc.org

SCCAS Featured Pet

Snow White Sweethearts!

Meet Ella (A307851) and Nova (A307852)! These two fantastically fluffy ladies are the ying to each other’s yang and would thrive in a home together. They have been at the shelter for a few months and we have learned a lot about them in that time!

Ella is more outgoing while Nova follows her lead. Both dogs are great in the car and they love a good sniffari walk where they can take in all the exciting smells of the world.

These pups have been out on adventures with volunteers and have had a great time — like most Huskies they do need daily exercise and mental stimulation.

At the shelter they love to play with toys in the yards, play fetch and race after each other. Since being at the Shelter they have come out of their shells with staff, volunteers and the public. They love baths and getting massages — who doesn’t?!

At the Shelter they met other dogs and have done well with them. Considering past observations of prey drive they are not recommended for a home with cats or other small animals. They might fit well in a home with dog savvy children. These two pups are sweeties and are looking for a home where they can run, play and get all of the love that they deserve. If you are looking for a great pair of pupscheck out Ella and Nova! •••

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. All adoptions are first come, first served.

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

Chief Dally to Retire

Capitola Police Chief Andrew Dally is planning to retire after three years as chief. He dealt with the impacts of Covid-19 restrictions and then an epic rainstorm with ocean swells that cut the historic Capitola Wharf in half, and a visit by the governor.

Dally joined the police department from Butte County Sheriff’s Office in 1999 as a captain, and was chosen in 2021 after a search to succeed Terry McManus. In 2021, the salary range for police chief was $150,000 to $190,000.

One of Dally’s goals was succession

“Chipping” from page 24

Reimbursement may only be applied to the chipping of materials that originated within 100 feet of an occupied structure or within 10 feet on either side of a private road. The costs of fueling a rented chipper and of renting a vehicle to tow a rented chipper are eligible for reimbursement.

At least 5 properties must participate. One neighborhood representative is to complete the online application to reserve the funds and receive the reimbursement payment for the group.

Include all participants’ names and contact information in the application, then wait for confirmation.

Once confirmed, you can hire a California licensed contractor or rent a chipper. Once confirmation of your application is made, chipping must be completed, and the reimbursement forms submitted within 30 days. Receipt must include dates of service and an itemized list of type of work and associated cost completed with chipping listed as a service. At least one photo must be included.

All work MUST be completed, and reimbursement forms and receipts submitted, no

“Calendar” from page 29

Wednesday September 25

CAPITOLA WHARF GRAND OPENING

2:30 p.m., Capitola Wharf

The City of Capitola announces a grand opening celebration at the head of Capitola Wharf, reopening the rebuilt historic Wharf and showcasing art and amenities made possible with fundraising by the community-driven Capitola Wharf Enhancement Project.

The city undertook a $10.6 million project to repair storm damage from 2023 and 2024 that cut the Wharf in two, widening the Wharf with the goal to make it more resilient against future storms, adding new decking, a new railing, repairs to and replacement of 150 piles, utility repairs, and the installation of new public restrooms near the Wharf entrance.

planning, and this time, the recruitment process will be internal rather than hiring a headhunter to recruit candidates from the outside for the city of 9,500.

City Manager Jamie Goldstein is responsible for recruiting and hiring the next police chief. Interviews are expected to begin in mid to late September, which could bring a new police chief in November. n

later than Nov. 30. Late reimbursement forms will not be accepted.

Grant funds for this program are dependent on in-kind contributions from landowners spending time clearing vegetation for defensible space, preparing piles and organizing chipping. Neighborhoods should keep track of their time and submit it with their reimbursement form.

Proof of payment can be an invoice with a cleared check, a non itemized receipt or a bank statement with the charge highlighted (and the other information redacted). Applications are first-come first-serve, and spots are limited. One the reimbursement arrives, person who applied distributes the funds.

If your neighborhood is unable to complete the chipping or fails to submit the Reimbursement Packet before Nov. 30 you will NOT be eligible for reimbursement and your spot will be available to the next neighborhood applicant. n

•••

To sign up, visit www.bdfsc.org or www. southskylinefiresafe.org

For more info, visit www.rcdsantacruz.org/ forest-health-and-wildfire-resiliency

The bulk of construction was completed mid-June by Cushman Construction.

for

The Capitola Wharf Enhancement Project, thanks to $425,000 in community donations, provides an aesthetically pleasing entryway, lighting fixtures, seating, viewing stations, and public art. Collaboration with and funding from the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation provided informational kiosks for the public to learn about Capitola’s rich history and natural environment. These features, including cladding for the exterior of restrooms, an upgraded fish-cleaning station, and the Wharf gate, will be completed throughout July and August and put the finishing touches on Capitola Wharf.

The grand opening will feature the Capitola mayor, city staff, community speakers, live music, food trucks and a beer garden. For information, follow the City of Capitola on Facebook and Instagram. n

Andrew Dally

Groundbreaking

Capitola Wharf Enhancement Project

L e t ’ s t a k e t h e f i r s t s t e p t o g e t h e r . W h a t ' s Y o u r H o m e W o r t h ? o C o n t a c t A m b e r t o d a y o r s c a n t h e c o d e b e l o w f o r a F R E E h o m e e s t i m a t e d e l i v e r e d r i g h t t o y o u r f r o n t d o o r . v r