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From the Editor

Tuesday, 22 November 2011 13:34 Greg Archer Columns - Editors Note
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Giving. Gratitude. Food. At last—2011’s perfect trifecta has arrived. Indulge in all that, but first ... down to business. Every year at Thanksgiving, GT joins efforts with the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz to shine the spotlight on four nonprofits whose work in the area makes a significant impact on the lives of locals. All this to not only raise the level of awareness on several unique organizations, but to generate funds for these creative nonprofits. Enter the Packard Foundation, which matches a percentage of the funds that you, the reader, contribute. The theme of the year’s crop of nonprofits revolve around youth. So, how important are local youths—their education, their futures, their lives—to you? Turn to page 18 and learn more about how the Summer Youth Employment Program, Watsonville Wetlands Watch, Mariposa’s Arts and Food, What?! contribute to the greater good in the area by working with local youths. Onward ...
There’s big news at the Tannery Arts Center revolving around the relatively new nonprofit dubbed The Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center. “Two years ago when I found out that the Tannery was coming to fruition I was intrigued by the idea that [the dance center] would become a centerpiece for arts and culture in Santa Cruz,” notes Cat Willis, the organization’s founder. Learn more in our report.
If you’ve been keeping track of the PG&E SmartMeter debate—or becoming part of the discussion—then you’re already familiar with how heated things have become. This week, the dialogue continues in News, where we tackle several main questions facing customers and deliver some answers.
What’s left? Time. And food. And gratitude, of course. So, whatever your plans are for the Thanksgiving holiday, it might be good not only to take stock of the good things in your life, but feel encouraged to be one of those good things in the lives of others. 
Thanks for reading. We here at GT are immensely grateful.
Greg Archer | Editor-in-Chief
Letters to the Editor

The Desal Debate Goes On
Regarding last week’s article on desalination, those who enjoy the privilege of utilizing political power to get what they want almost always claim that the "facts are the facts." An elephant in the middle of the room is a "fact," too, but as the Six Blind Men discovered, the truth and significance of the "facts" we confront are not all that clear. Too bad the city council and its appointed officers are more focused on doing what they want than in working with the public to achieve a common understanding of the "facts."
In other words, I'm with Rick Longinotti in this debate. For those not familiar with the "The Blind Men and the Elephant," you can read the poem right at gapatton.net/2010/0...d-men.html.
Gary A. Patton
Santa Cruz

Best Online Comments

On  ‘James Durbin’ ...
James is the real deal. He has a passion that he lives, he has values and morals that keep him grounded on Earth; and he knows we are all here for a higher purpose and that we are to give back to humanity. He does it all, he is the "Real Deal!" and I am so happy for him and his family.
Can't wait to see the Fire Marshall at the Civic! I'll be there!
—Gini Gyorkos

James has such a great spirit, and it's that spirit that inspires others to believe that it is possible to achieve what they think at the time is unachievable. Thanks James for your story and your passion to help others.
—Wanda Best

Wow. Great interview! Great guy that James Durbin. Heidi Air Lowe—you’re a great woman. Very inspiring human story. Thank you for sharing for all the work you are doing. It takes great dedication to work as hard as you are doing now. Your fans all thank you.
—Angele7

On  ‘SmartMeters’ ...
Sorry, but I think this is all a bunch of b.s. hysteria. The problem I have with all of this SmartMeter nonsense is that these meters emit just as much RF radiation or less than cell phones, wireless phones, WiFi hotspots and microwave ovens. All RF radiation producing devices around the home have FCC IDs, which you can look up on the FCC website and easily find the RF Exposure calculations/reports.
My Smartmeter FCC report shows 21.7 dBm maximum RF Power. Take a look at the handy dandy interwebs and guess what, typical RF power output from that Apple Airport you’ve been sitting by in your home office for the last five years is about 25dBm, your microwave oven leakage about 30dBm, and the cell phone you blab on five hours a day, up to 33dBm. My guess is that a lot of the people complaining are exposed to these other devices regularly but have no ill effects. On top of it, just about all meters are partially enclosed in a grounded metal box that blocks much of the RF radiation emitted towards the house anyway (it's called a Faraday cage if you want to look it up). And yes, I am schooled in electrical engineering, have studied RF and microwave theory and my first job out of college was working on military radios so I do know a little about the subject.
—Techy in the Woods

Holiday Deadlines
Good Times offices will be closed Nov. 24-25 for the Thanksgiving holiday. The following holiday deadlines will be in effect for the , Dec 1 issue:

Display, Class Display and Bulletin Board: 3 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 23. Classified ads: 10 a.m., Monday, Nov. 28.
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CYNDI

On the eve of Cyndi Lauper’s Mountain Winery gig, we dissect the woman, the icon, the creative beast. Plus: Her thoughts on the music industry, equal rights and those sparkling ‘Kinky Boots’ Few performers possess the kind of fierce, she-bopping tenacity Cyndi Lauper has become famous for. Equal parts free spirit, civil rights activist and Grammy-winner, Lauper is one of the few creative artists able to successfully marry her cutting-edge verve with a heart-of-gold panache. It certainly has helped fuel the remarkable career resurgence she has been experiencing lately.

 

Field to Vase

Open house provides opportunity for residents to meet their local flower growers Valentine’s Day is a high point of the year for those in the cut flower business. So when, one year in the late ’90s, the bouquet-riddled holiday failed to deliver for Kitayama Brothers Farms, the family behind the decades-old rose-growing business knew something was wrong.  “It was the writing on the wall,” recalls Stuart Kitayama, operations manager for the Watsonville-based company. “Those of us who had been hoping things would just get better finally said ‘it’s time to change.’”

 

The Price of Safety

The city's proposed budget addresses public safety needs The City of Santa Cruz’s pocketbook has come a long way since 2009, when an $8 million shortfall loomed. According to City Manager Martin Bernal, the proposed general fund budget for 2013-2014 is healthier than it has been since the beginning of The Great Recession in 2008. Armed with this returning stability, the proposal puts one of the community's top concerns—public safety—front and center.

 

Community Studies 2.0

After a controversial suspension, a new incarnation of the unique UC Santa Cruz major is reinstated The UC Santa Cruz community studies lounge is a great place to have a conversation.  Housed on the second floor of a faculty building in Oakes College, just down the hall from a whiteboard that reads “COMMUNITY STUDIES LIVES,” the room has a big round table, couches and chairs, and shelves stacked with past senior “capstone projects.”

 

North Pacific String Band

Jeff Wilson, who plays banjo for North Pacific String Band, loves being part of original music experiences. “What I like about the music we play is that it’s fairly unique and kind of hard to put your finger on,” Wilson says. “We’re not just trying to do bluegrass or country or folk. It’s a mixture of those things and we try to add in a lot of musicality to all of that.” Originality and musicality aren’t ideas which are limited to the band’s exploits either.

 

Peace in the Middle East

New dance-concert explores Palestinian-Israeli conflict Inspired by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, local choreographer Karl Schaffer’s “Mosaic” is a dance-concert featuring Jewish Diaspora and Arab music from the women’s choral group Zambra, singer Fattah Abbou and a troupe of local dancers. In between rehearsals for the show, which runs June 21-22 at Motion Pacific, Schaffer shared the story behind its creation.

 

Muscle-Bound

Valiant cast battles loud, ugly action for the soul of 'Man of Steel' Early in Man of Steel, fourth-grader Clark, the boy who will be Superman, is cowering in a broom closet at school, eyes screwed shut, hands clapped over his ears. He can't control his super powers: his X-ray vision shows him the skulls and skeletons under everyone's flesh; unfiltered noise—dogs, traffic, heartbeats—assault him from all sides. Rushing to school, his mom kneels outside the door and asks what's wrong.

 

The Plug Bug & Corbin Dunn

Mechanic, programmer, acrobat, builder, tinkerer. Corbin Dunn's 1969 Volkswagen Beetle is a fully electric vehicle. It has an electric motor powered by 48 stacked squares of Lithium-ion battery cells under the hood in place of the 50 horsepower gas engine that it was built with. He calls it, affectionately, “the Plug Bug.” Dunn, who was born in Hawaii, raised in Corralitos, and now lives in a large, old A-frame house near the summit in the Santa Cruz Mountains, is a 35-year-old programmer for Apple in Cupertino, where he helped develop the iPhone and works on the framework for the Macintosh operating system. But his aptitude for intricate technical work is not limited to computers. Dunn is a tinkerer.

 

Making the Grade

The quest to identify sources of high levels of bacteria at Cowell Beach continues With straight As on Heal the Bay’s annual “beach report card” for 10 out of 13 Santa Cruz County beaches—Main Beach, Seabright, and even Cowell Beach at the Stairs, to name a few—it would seem that Santa Cruz boasts a high coastal GPA. But in recent years, one Santa Cruz beach just can’t seem to pass: Cowell Beach west of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf.

 

To Arm or Disarm?

While gun sales soar nationally, a group of musicians fundraise for a local gun buy-back In the wake of high-profile incidents of gun violence—from the Sandy Hook school shooting last December to the fatal shooting of two Santa Cruz police officers three months ago—the debate over gun ownership in America centers on one question as it rages on: Do guns make us safer or do they make our lives more dangerous?
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Good Morning Maui

Goodness, righteousness, virtuousness and fairness are some of the four-score English words that attempt to describe the Hawaiian essence of pono, whose use in the state motto translates to “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”

 

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.

 

Is Edward Snowden a patriot or a traitor?

He's a patriot. Anyone who stands up for the rights that we stand for as a country, that is real democracy. That would be in my book—somebody who is a patriot. Leah WeissSanta Cruz | Therapist

 

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 |

 

Serene Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

There’s always an upbeat vibe going at MJA’s tasting room on the Westside. On a recent visit, the very sociable owner Marin Artukovich was busy pouring for a roomful of oenophiles having a good time. With the help of staff members, Artukovich makes sure that nobody waits too long to sample his fine wines, while also keeping track of every person’s flight.

 

Paying it Forward

Pianist Benny Green wants jazz’s past to continue to inform its future I can honestly say I’m still learning.” Hearing such an admirable, humble statement from someone like Benny Green—a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and band leader whose 30-plus year career includes performances and recordings with jazz luminaries like Oscar Peterson, Art Blakey and Betty Carter—might be surprising at first. But Green’s insatiable desire to keep learning has served him well. That desire—and his deep love of jazz—is something he wants today’s younger musicians to feel, too.

 

A Very Fine House

Adjacent to the front door, the long, clean wooden bar is surrounded by pumpkin-colored stools. At the entrance to the dining rooms, there is a new low-slung cafe door hung in the wood-covered arch. Where there once was a stage, stocky wooden tables are neatly arranged perpendicularly on a new tile floor, each set with square white plates and burnt orange cloth napkins.

 

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.

 

What’s your secret to avoiding the summer swarms?