Thirty-six percent of Pajaro Valley Unified School District’s fifth, seventh and ninth graders are overweight or obese, according to the California Healthy Kids Survey. The Go For Health! Collaborative, an effort of United Way of Santa Cruz County, has just been awarded a $360,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to address the health problems amongst youth in the Watsonville/Pajaro Valley area. Forty-one places across the country were selected as recipients of the grant as part of the foundation’s Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative. Go For Health! plans to put the money to work increasing opportunities for physical activity and access to healthier foods—like the copious fruits and vegetables being grown in neighboring fields.
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UC Santa Cruz cognitive psychology professor Dr. Dominic Massaro may be known for his “fuzzy logical” model of perception, his creation of Baldi, the computer animated talking head who can serve as a language tutor, and his formulation of various language learning products. But lately, Massaro has been revolutionizing the way kids learn to tell time.
While helping out in his son’s second grade classroom, Massaro observed some of the common errors children make while trying to tell time from an analog clock, such as reversing the hands or mistaking the Roman numeral II (meaning 10 minutes past the hour) as meaning two minutes past the hour. Armed with these observations and his knowledge of cognitive psychology, as well as the goal of making analog clock time-telling easy to learn, Massaro came up with the Kid Klock.
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UCSC Professor Tackles Time-Telling with Kid Klok
UC Santa Cruz cognitive psychology professor Dr. Dominic Massaro may be known for his “fuzzy logical” model of perception, his creation of Baldi, the computer animated talking head who can serve as a language tutor, and his formulation of various language learning products. But lately, Massaro has been revolutionizing the way kids learn to tell time. While helping out in his son’s second grade classroom, Massaro observed some of the common errors children make while trying to tell time from an analog clock, such as reversing the hands or mistaking the Roman numeral II (meaning 10 minutes past the hour) as meaning two minutes past the hour. Armed with these observations and his knowledge of cognitive psychology, as well as the goal of making analog clock time-telling easy to learn, Massaro came up with the Kid Klock.
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Voters Fight to Protect Local Services
Governor Schwarzenegger and the State Legislature are looking to take even more money from local governments this year (after taking controversial portions in 2009), but many Monterey Bay residents won't stand for it. The state government, politically unable to raise taxes, feels it is out of options with California's current budget deficit at about $20 billion dollars over the next 18 months. Trying to salvage valuable services, the Monterey Bay Division of the League of California Cities has announced a campaign to support a state-wide measure that would protect local services, and is shooting for it to be on ballots this November. They are currently gathering signatures and fear that any more cuts to local services would be disastrous for many institutions, including police, the fire department, and Transportation.
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Housing Authority Looks to Cut Water Waste
The Housing Authority of Santa Cruz is looking for new ways to fight an old problem. The group has announced that it is installing water meters in 213 rental units in 13 housing complexes that it operates between Santa Cruz and Watsonville. Executive Director Ken Cole listened to suggestions that locals cut water usage by 15 percent, but expects the procedure to cut water usage by as much as 20 percent. The meters, which were paid for by last year's economic stimulus package, will not only make tenants more aware of their own water usage but also allow authorities to detect possible leaks.
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The Pink Umbrella Councilman?
One notorious Santa Cruzan is vying to snag one of three seats that will open up on the Santa Cruz City Council in November (those currently held by Mayor Mike Rotkin, Cynthia Mathews and Lynn Robinson): Robert Steffen, perhaps better known as “The Pink Umbrella Man,” has shed his infamous pink garb and announced his candidacy. It’s a little premature, but with such a quintessential Santa Cruz character already in the mix and more to surely follow, let the race begin!
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Santa Cruz Reduces Emissions
The city of Santa Cruz has successfully reduced its green house gas (GHG) emissions to 8 percent below levels in 1996. Residential homes showed the largest reduction in GHG emissions with a 29 percent reduction since 1996. The key actions responsible for this impressive decrease include purchasing efficient appliances and lights, installation of an estimated 2,170 kW residential solar photovoltaic panels, and conscientious lifestyle choices.
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Goodbye Sloppy Joe, Hello Granny Smith
On Wednesday, Dec. 15, Congressman Sam Farr introduced legislation that would greatly increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in our country's cafeterias. The legislation, the Children's Fruit and Vegetable Act (H.R. 4333), includes provisions to increase USDA spending on fruits, vegetables, and overall cafeteria infrastructure by more than $100 million over the next few years to promote health and combat childhood obesity. The proposed legislation also has a focus on promoting local foods via a farm-to-cafeteria program ($10 million per year for two years) which could simultaneously increase health and stimulate local economies.
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Goodbye Sloppy Joe, Hello Granny Smith
In Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Dec. 15, Congressman Sam Farr (D-Carmel) introduced legislation that would greatly increase the amount of fruits and vegetables in our country's cafeterias. The legislation, the Children's Fruit and Vegetable Act (H.R. 4333), includes provisions to increase USDA spending on fruits, vegetables, and overall cafeteria infrastructure by more than $100 million over the next few years to promote health and combat childhood obesity. The proposed legislation also has a focus on promoting local foods via a farm-to-cafeteria program ($10 million/year for two years) which could simultaneously increase health and stimulate local economies. "The federal government talks about the food pyramid and healthy eating, then spends billions on unhealthy food," said Congressman Farr after introducing the bill. "It's time we put our money where our mouth is and address the poor quality of food in our schools."
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Introducing EcoCoupons
SANTA CRUZ - Twenty-four-year-old Eric Ressler, with a little help from his folks, has just launched a new online service that will benefit his fellow Santa Cruz residents, local businesses, and the environment: the site is ecocoupons.org, and it’s all about paperless coupons. Instead of receiving piles of coupons in the mail (and constantly throwing them away) ecocoupons.org allows its visitors to select what coupons they want, when they want them, and then download them to their phone or another mobile device. The project is endorsed by the Downtown Association and has more than 30 local businesses participating so far.
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H1N1 Public Option
As of Thursday, Dec. 10, vaccinations for H1N1 have been available in Santa Cruz County to the public beyond target groups, or those at highest risk from the disease, due to improved availability and the belief that many in the target groups have already been vaccinated. 56,290 doses of the vaccine have arrived in Santa Cruz County as of Dec. 7, an additional 12,000 on top of what was expected. Public Health has administered over 9,000 vaccinations to those in target groups and has held four walk-in clinics. "We are committed to provide this vaccine as soon as possible to those who want it," says Health Officer Dr. Poki Namkung. For more information visit Santa Cruz Health Center, 1080 Emeline Ave. or call (831) 454-4574.
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- No Big Surprises
- The Gypsy
- Transoceana
- Cruzin’ for Inspiration
- Growing Berries Without Bromide
- Town Hall with Assemblymember Mark Stone
- Santa Cruz Calendar
- Uniting All That Has Been Separated
- Santa Cruz Movie Times
- Film, Times & Events: Week of May 16th, 2013
- Vine & Dine: Pine Ridge Vineyards
- Beck to the Future
No Big Surprises
The highly anticipated draft Environmental Impact Report for desal is finally out. Will it change anything? By Elizabeth Limbach When scwd2, the group pursuing the proposed joint desalination plant for the Santa Cruz Water Department and Soquel Creek Water District, set up a booth at the Santa Cruz Earth Day festival in 2012, its reception was less than warm. Signature gathering for Measure P, the “right to vote” on desal ballot measure, was in full swing, as were tensions over the controversial project, which would produce up to 2.5 million gallons per day of desalinated water and cost an estimated $100 million. What were representatives of an energy-intensive desal plant doing among the recycling and conservation booths? That was the attitude Melanie Mow Schumacher, public outreach coordinator for scwd2 (pronounced “squid squared”), remembers sensing.
The Maya-Ixil Move Forward
Local nonprofit works to educate and create opportunity for indigenous communities in Guatemala In an isolated region of the Guatemala mountains called Ixil, the indigenous Maya population was devastated by a civil war between the government and leftist guerrilla factions that spanned 1960 to 1996. During that 36-year war, the Guatemalan military eradicated entire Mayan communities. In what amounted to genocide, soldiers burned Mayan farmlands and homes, raped and tortured the people, and scattered families. By the end of the war, 200,000 Mayans had been killed, 7,000 of whom were Maya-Ixil.
Public Thinking
Watsonville teens host TEDx event Santa Cruz County is no stranger to the TED brand. TED—which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design—talks have come to the area through independently organized events 10 times since 2011. This month, the gathering returns to the county with a new twist, thanks to the Watsonville Youth City Council. TEDxYouth@Watsonville, which will take place Sunday, May 19 at the Henry J. Mello Center for the Performing Arts in Watsonville, will feature only speakers younger than 19 years old and will traverse topics from racial stereotypes and renewable energy to traditional Mexican dance.
Transoceana
Danny Moriarty’s musical influences have been known to impact his life beyond his local rock band, Transoceana. “I went through two periods,” confesses the singer, guitarist and songwriter. “I borrowed Bono’s mullet look from the ’80s for a while, and then I dressed like I was from the ’70s and had big hair like Jimmy Page.” Bono and Page are also symbolic of Transoceana’s evolution as a band during their three years together.
Cruzin’ for Inspiration
Former resident pays homage to Santa Cruz with locally shot thesis film When he left Santa Cruz for the University of Southern California’s graduate film program in 2010, Christopher Guerrero had completed the film major at UC Santa Cruz in 2008 and worked on campus in the film and digital media department. It wasn’t until he headed south, that Guerrero began to reminisce about the coastal town. “It was really really hard when I moved to L.A., to acclimate and find friends,” he says, adding that—counter to the philosophical, conversational culture of Santa Cruz—he found nowhere in his new town where he could simply sit and talk about life with someone. “I didn’t really realize why I love [Santa Cruz] so much until it was gone.”
Beck to the Future
In celebration of Beck’s solo acoustic show at The Rio, GT explores Song Reader, the alternative rock icon’s most ambitious interactive art piece yet. Here’s an odd little paradox of the digital revolution: The more sophisticated our technology gets, the more our musical milieu begins to resemble that of a bygone era, when song ideas were passed around from musician to musician, perpetually taking on new twists. Dozens of different YouTube users might try their hand at setting somebody’s rant about cats or double rainbows to music, or you might hear the Belgian musician Gotye turning the many and varied covers of his song “Somebody That I Used to Know” into a virtual orchestra (see below).
Growing Berries Without Bromide
Researchers test a new alternative to a controversial chemical The scarecrows perched in Santa Cruz strawberry fields do little to scare away the birds, much less the insects and fungi harbored in the soil. Everything likes to eat strawberries, which makes growing them a risky business. This predicament led UC Santa Cruz professor Carol Shennan to take an unconventional approach to pest management. Nine years ago, the fatal plant disease Verticillium wilt was wiping out strawberry plants at the university farm. Chemicals hardly phase the pathogen, and Shennan saw little improvement with crop rotation, which is typically used to treat infested fields. A visiting plant pathologist from the Netherlands recommended a little-known organic technique called anaerobic soil disinfestation, and, with so few other options, Shennan decided to give it a try.
Uniting All That Has Been Separated
Legal Battles Drag On
More than a year after the 75 River St. occupation, four defendants remain embroiled in ongoing case More than a year and a half since a group occupied the former Wells Fargo building on River Street in an act of protest, felony charges linger on for four of the original defendants and a trial may be imminent. Gabriella Ripley-Phipps, Brent Adams, Cameron Laurendeau and Franklin Alcantara were scheduled to begin trial May 13 in connection with the late 2011 protest. That trial now has been pushed back to September due to scheduling conflicts. The four face a felony charge of vandalism and a misdemeanor for trespassing.
Bringing the Message Home
Former mayor and UCSC student recap their experiences at the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women While traveling to New York for the 57th United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), seasoned local activist Jane Weed-Pomerantz had a notion of what to expect. But, with the vast scope of worldwide women’s rights violations presented at the commission, she knew she would still be taken aback at times. “I was worried because I had a feeling I would be finding out what I did find out about women and girls in the world,” says Weed-Pomerantz. “I was trying to brace myself for the knowledge of the reality, because we are really very protected in this country.”
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May Day in the Alps
When my daughter returns to Santa Cruz from her new home in Los Angeles, she comments on how quiet it is here. It was even more so during a trip to Ben Lomond, when we set out for a sample of her second favorite macaroni and cheese. Sitting at the front of the Tyrolean Inn restaurant, the green tarp with plastic windows kept out the chill as well as the noise of an occasional passing car. A new draft beer celebrating the German spring, Maibok ($6) was refreshing, served in a hefty glass stein, but specialty cocktails are unique as well.
The Power of Conversation
Local author Cecile Andrews emphasizes importance of community engagement in newest book Cecile Andrews, author of the new book “Living Room Revolution: A Handbook for Conversation, Community and the Common Good,” probably wouldn’t get along too well with Larry David’s character from HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, known for hiding his face and avoiding communication with anyone he runs into on the street. Andrews is a longstanding part-time Santa Cruz (part-time Seattle) resident who says something that’s struck her about this town over the years is people's willingness to participate in a practice she’s dubbed the “Stop and Chat”—which is exactly what it sounds like.
What are you a total sucker for?
A cold beer after a long bike ride, gossip, and fighting over politics. Kyle McKinley Santa Cruz | Lecturer
Best of Santa Cruz County
The 2013 Santa Cruz County Readers' Poll and Critics’ Picks It’s our biggest issue of the year, and in it, your votes—more than 6,500 of them—determined the winners of The Best of Santa Cruz County Readers’ Poll. New to the long list of local restaurants, shops and other notables that captured your interest: Best Beer Selection, Best Locally Owned Business, Best Customer Service and Best Marijuana Dispensary. In the meantime, many readers were ever so chatty online about potential new categories. Some of the suggestions that stood out: Best Teen Program and Best Web Design/Designer. But what about: Dog Park, Church, Hotel, Local Farm, Therapist (I second that!) or Sports Bar—not to be confused with Bra. Our favorite suggestion: Best Act of Kindness—one reader noted Café Gratitude and the free meals it offered to the Santa Cruz Police Department in the aftermath of recent crimes. Perhaps some of these can be woven into next year’s ballot, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the following pages and take note of our Critics’ Picks, too, beginning on page 91. A big thanks for voting—and for reading—and an even bigger congratulations to all of the winners. Enjoy. -Greg Archer, EditorBest of Santa Cruz County Readers’ Poll INDEX | Shops | Food & Drink | Arts & Entertainment | Health & Fitness | Professionals | The Rest |
Vine & Dine: Pine Ridge Vineyards
Chenin Blanc + Viognier 2012 On a recent trip to Palm Springs, I came across Pine Ridge Vineyards’ Chenin Blanc + Viognier at a new downtown restaurant called Lulu. Superbly decorated in Hollywood-esque style and with a very hip vibe, this California bistro is one of the hottest new dining spots—and the Chenin Blanc was just the right wine to pair with some of Lulu’s Happy Hour tapas-style food. And eating outdoors in the desert’s warm night air makes a chilled white wine taste even better.
The Gypsy
French-born jazz vocalist Cyrille Aimée lives for musical freedom and improvisation Cyrille Aimée is a musical gypsy. Her sound incorporates elements of Latin American, American, Brazilian and other styles of jazz, she has recorded albums as a duet with Diego Figueiredo, she currently performs with the Surreal (same pronunciation as her first name) Band, and she is working on a new album with yet another band. As it happens, Aimée can actually blame gypsies for her love of jazz. “I grew up in Samois-sur-Seine, which is a little town in France where Django Reinhardt used to live,” she says. “Every year they have the Django Festival in his honor, and so gypsies from all parts of Europe come and honor him and play guitar. I started hanging out with the gypsies and became obsessed with their music, their way of living, their freedom. What drew me to jazz music was the freedom of it, all the improvisation, and the fact that it’s a style of music that is constantly changing.”
Step on up to the Bar
Here in Santa Cruz County, we are privileged to have farm-fresh greens year-round. Making a nightly salad at home is a snap since the emergence of pre-washed greens, and vinaigrette dressing is made easily with your favorite vinegar and small spoon of Dijon mustard whisked with a bit of olive oil.
Exposed
David Cay Johnston’s new book explains how big companies rob us blind In his late teens David Cay Johnston started to ask questions. “Why do we have these guys in uniforms with guns driving around in cars all day?” “Why is the Santa Cruz County Courthouse being built in such an unusual shape?” He wrote an article, while still living in his hometown of Santa Cruz, proving that the off-kilter courthouse building, which officials had promised would save money, actually cost more than a conventional building.