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From the Editor

Thursday, 05 July 2012 13:31 Greg Archer Columns - Editors Note
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greg archerPlus Letters to the Editor 

I received some good news recently, and, perhaps, proof that people can change their thoughts and perceptions. At last, my Polish mother back in Chicago is willing to admit there is such a thing as climate change. This, after Chicagoland experienced its mildest winter in years, and, more recently, braving 90- to100-plus degree heat for nearly a week, only to be pummelled with 90-mile-an-hour winds last weekend, which left many suburbs without electricity for some time.

All that made me realize that the one discussion not being had (much) these days is about the state of the environment. I believe it hasn’t been a major headliner in quite some time. Perhaps that has a lot to do with what the media now chooses to focus on to generate high ratings—TomKat’s split, Obamacare, Anderson Cooper coming out. It’s surprising, especially with the evidence of such severe weather patterns, that the discussion isn’t being had. Send us your thoughts, ideas and musings about environemental matters and alternatives to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

In the meantime, in this week’s issue, we ask: What The Fringe? As in ... what is it and what is the story behind a new festival set to unfold in Santa Cruz? This week, writer Kim Luke commands our attention with the lowdown on the Fringe Festival, a new creative outing which features a number of “artists” in various mediums. Turn to page 12 for the full story. And here’s a shout out to local Aleksandra Wolska, whose play “The Wall” runs at the fest’s Center Stage July 14-17 and 21-22 ( learn more at theaterbetween.com).

Other local notables to watch out for (because they’re doing great work elsewhere): Wallace Baine (of the Santa Cruz Sentinel ); well-known county leader Lynn C. Miller, who comes on board as Community Television of Santa Cruz County’s interim executive director; Capitola Book Café, which continues to build momentum with its “Survive and Thrive” campaign (see capitolabookcafe.com), and Bookshop Santa Cruz, which makes big news this week by unveiling its new Espresso Book Machine (see related article on page 22).

That’s it for now. Enjoy the issue.

More next time ...

Greg Archer | Editor-in-Chief 

 

Letters to the Editor 

Understanding Environmentalism
Regarding the article on the Sierra Club redefining its goals, I think the challenge of being an environmentalist is the ability to have holistic viewpoint, a knowledge of the need of infrastructure for larger populations of people for less impact on the environment, not more. You also have to be realistic, and the issues you support should not have a high degree of negative impact on others. The correct answers are out there, and environmentalists and non-environmentalists really do want the same thing. Finding a way in agreement to that "thing" is the hard part.
Bill Smallman
Santa Cruz

Online Comments

On ‘Boardwalk Empire’ ...
Thank you for this very informative and well-written article (GT 6/28) about Fred Swanton. Nice getting to know him.
—Viktoria

On ‘Pacific Avenue Poll Results’ ...
I thought about this yesterday as I drove down Pacific Avenue and saw people enjoying lunch at tables outside of Zoccoli's. Two-way traffic would only detract from such a “cafe experience.” Who wants to breathe in additional exhaust fumes? They should try making Pacific one-way from Front Street to Cathcart and two-way on the side streets off of Pacific, to make it less "confusing." I don't fully buy the out-of-town consultant's notions. Or else make a section pedestrian-only— perhaps two blocks. Walking is good for people!
—JudiG

Given the results of your informal poll, it seems as though the majority of Santa Cruz residents and visiting tourists would like Pacific Avenue. Mall to be pedestrian-only. Why are the downtown merchants so reluctant to give it a try? How else could they possibly know if its a viable idea or not? C'mon merchants: give this idea a chance. If it fails (I don't think it will), at least you acted fairly, and tried!
—Elsie

In the ’60s Pacific Avenue was a hugely popular place to cruise (cruz) in your hot rod or whatever. Young people would come from all over to do the circuit from Pacific Avenue (at Water Street) to Front Street to Beach Street, loop around at the end at the parking lot and go back. There was plenty of drinking and revving up your engine and other youthful amusements. The cops and business people didn't like the scene. This is likely the real reason why the traffic pattern downtown was changed ... not just to widen the sidewalks. It's (not) funny how the winners always write the history and mostly everyone is fooled.
—Karkus

Pacific Avenue was two-way in the biggining. We changed it to one way to make room for larger sidewalks. Being two-way I think would make access to both ends of the mall easier but not sure how we would go about going back from which we came? We would have to take back some sidewalk and not sure how popular that would be. Being a pedestrain-only mall just doesnt seem realistic. The only cost-effective way to deal with this right now, I think, would be to leave it alone. How much would it cost to return Pacific Avenue to a two-way street? I don’t even want to think about it.
—Rich

On ‘Splitting Green Hairs’ ...
The silence from the traditionalists in light of the single-issue victory of the new majority may be telling. It would be good to get some comments from those who opposed the bicyclist "Pave Over the Gulch" faction. Seems a little like having commandeered the ship, and the new captains in order to stop opposition to bike paths. They're now a bit desperate to keep the crew from deserting.
—Robert Norse

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    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.

     

    The Tilt

    Although Jesse Malley, lead singer of the outlaw country, blues and rock ’n’ roll band The Tilt, no longer lives in Santa Cruz, she was born and raised here and this is where her love of music and performance began. “My dad worked at The Catalyst for 27 years, so I got to see a lot of music acts come through town,” she says. “Music always seemed to me to be such an incredible way to express yourself that I just stumbled upon my voice and jumped into it.” That jump eventually led to Malley heading down to San Diego to pursue a music career, and her band The Tilt has just released their full-length debut, Howlin’.

     

    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

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    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.”

     

    The Driftless

    Megan Saunders and the rest of the members of The Driftless—Blair McLaughlin, Jeffrey Kissell and Rob Smith—love their band. “We have a good time with it,” says Saunders (mandolin, banjo, vocals). “I’ve been in bands off and on for a lot of my life and sometimes it can take a lot of work, but with this group there isn’t any of the ego or drama you tend to get. ... It’s fun.” Not only is this evident when speaking with Saunders, who will use some variation of this quote roughly half a dozen times during our interview, but you can sense it in their music, too.
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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.

     

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    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

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    Vine & Dine: Pine Ridge Vineyards

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    Making Sense of Soul

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    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.

     

    Do you unplug often enough? Or do you need help?

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