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From The Editor

Wednesday, 13 March 2013 13:00 Greg Archer Columns - Editors Note
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Greg 1editNotePlus Letters To the Editor

As Santa Cruz County continues to find its emotional footing after the tragic deaths of Sergeant Loran “Butch” Baker and Det. Elizabeth Butler, the best course of action may be twofold: Turn to one another for support when needed, and keep the conversation about crime alive. The more the community dialogues about the issue, the better chance many people have of not only moving through the seemingly daunting task of recovery, but also strengthening ties that could produce a powerful ripple effect down the road. Here’s to that.

In the meantime, there are a number of events designed to honor the fallen officers (see Good Idea this week). Onward ...
This week’s issue shines the spotlight on another community-building entity: The Derby Girls. How can a spirited group of gals bring the community together so passionately? Turn to page 12 to learn more about that, and also why this enterprising bunch is so effective at what it does.
In News, there’s an interesting Town Hall Q&A with Assemblymember Mark Stone who, in the wake of the area’s recent challenges, notes that “at the Capitol, reducing violent crime is a top priority, and legislators are proposing more than a dozen new laws aimed at keeping guns out of criminals’ hands.” Stay tuned for more updates on that.

Elsewhere, Lisa Jensen gives readers the lowdown on Oz The Great and Powerful, which opened last weekend and nabbed $80 million, making it one of the highest grossing film openings in history. See page 34 for all of the details.

What’s left? Plenty. In between continuing to send support and well wishes to the Baker and Butler families, we move forward into the first week of spring, which, by its very nature, typically ushers in change of some kind. So, what kind of change would you like to create—in your own life or in the community? Those may be good things to ponder in the coming weeks. Thanks for reading.

More soon ...


Greg Archer | Editor-in-Chief

letters

 

A Broken System?
Last year a homeless man was arrested, handcuffed and put in jail for attempting to sleep on a public bench as a form of protest in front of the County Court House. Being unable to post bail, he spent a considerable time in jail while waiting for the system of due process to run its course. The estimated cost the Justice System spent on his prosecution: thousands of our tax dollars.

Earlier this year, another man with a criminal record and two rape charges was arrested on charges of drunk and disorderly conduct after entering a co-worker's house uninvited and climbing into her roommate's bed and making sexual advances. The justice system however didn't keep this man in jail but released him instead. The next week he murdered two of our finest police officers. The point I am making here is that the policy of the Justice and Law Enforcement System is badly broken. It is being used as a political tool to stifle dissent, and criminalize and punish people for being poor and homeless instead of protecting our community. If the homeless man was released on his on recognizance and the repeated sex offender with a criminal record and several guns was instead kept in jail or at least given the same scrutiny as the homeless man our two fallen police officers would probably be alive today.
Drew Lewis
Santa Cruz

Thanks For The ‘Good’
I love hearing about the good things that are happening in the world. (GT 3/7 “Project WOO.”) The mainstream media seems to focus only on the bad stuff:  whatever is upsetting for people. I'm sure there is actually more good stuff happening, but it just gets less attention. Your article by Jenna Brogan, about a brilliantly planned project being carried out by young men who are dedicated to helping, is a welcome counterpoint. Much appreciated.
LeAnn Meyer
Santa Cruz


photo contest



editor seals


GOOD REST 
Life in the Bay can be tough. This group of seals takes a break and naps
peacefully below the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf. photo/Ed Garner.






Submit photos to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Include information about the photo (location, etc.) and your name within the body of the email. Photos may be cropped to fit.

good work



Community Support
Last week locals came out in full force to honor Santa Cruz police detectives Sgt. Loran "Butch" Baker and Elizabeth Butler. During the March 7 memorial procession to HP Pavillion in San Jose, hundreds of locals descended upon Ocean Street, many with signs in tow. Meanwhile, thousands filled the pavillion for the emotional service. Here in Santa Cruz, The Del Mar Theatre was near capacity and the Kaiser Permanente Arena also had a big crowd. The next line of business: Healing.


good idea



Spin For A Cause
The Bike Dojo joins the efforts to help the families of the officers killed in the line of duty on Feb. 26. “Spin for a Cause”  takes place from 5-8 p.m. Friday, March 15 at The Bike Dojo in Downtown Santa Cruz. One hundred percent of the proceeds will go to the Baker/Butler Scholarship Fund, benefiting the officers’ children. Cost: $25 an hour ($75 for the full three hours). Food and drinks will be provided by Mamma Lucia Pizzeria, Pacific Cookie Co. and New Leaf. There will also be a raffle and you do not need to spin to participate. Visit thebikedojo.com.

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editor quoteofweek





“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.



Online Comments


On ‘Project WOO’ ...
I take my hat off to these young fellows. It is good to know that the young are giving. Keep up the good work.
Jim Burak

On ‘PTSD’ ...  
There's a website, ptsdstress.com that has an anonymous interactive computer program that reduces the symptoms of PTSD for the user. Developed in part by an NIH PTSD researcher/ doctor, the site uses eye movement. It's confidential, costs $10 per session and accepts credit cards but does not require a cardholder name adding further confidentiality. It has been used by military and non-military for more than four years.
Jeff Eastman

We've been successfully helping vets for years, with PTSD and (m)TBI, up until recently for free. Panic attacks and explosive anger disappear almost immediately. If you are a veteran, listen to your loved ones if they tell you that you need help! Often those with PTSD can't see the problem. Seek out a local homeopath that knows about PTSD, or please ask for a referral.
Renita Herrmann


On ‘Walnut Commons’ ...  
The fact I'm married to one of the sources quoted in no way influences my opinion, but we all at Walnut Commons appreciate the great local coverage. We expect many future group dinners where we'll discuss the latest reading in GT!
Paul Andrews

Comments (1)Add Comment
On 'A Broken System?'
written by Bruce Holloway, March 18, 2013
Yeah, what Drew Lewis said. Add to this that a transient who allegedly took flowers from a sidewalk memorial to the slain police officers was tossed in jail with a higher bail than that for the allegedly drunken sexual harasser who shot them.

Arguments for Measure H in 2010 (http://www.votescount.com/nov10/h.pdf):
"The City Council has pledged that Measure H revenues will fight crime and gangs plaguing our community... YES - Measure H is about public safety. This measure pays for eight new police officers to patrol our neighborhoods and downtown..." But the City never followed through.

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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.

 

Flag Day, Father’s Day and Chiron

Another week of complex planetary energies falling to Earth. Mars interacts with Pluto (inconjunct), Uranus (sextile) and Chiron (square, challenge, ouch!). We won’t know how to comprise, we’ll want to be friends but our hurts will challenge that desire.
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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 |

 

Dancing Creek Winery

At the Pinot Paradise event back in March, I tasted some very good Pinots from the Santa Cruz Mountains, and Dancing Creek Winery’s 2009 Pinot ($27) was one of them. This plummy dark brew, made from grapes grown in Corralitos, has delicious flavors of pomegranate, prosciutto, dried cherries, and mint julep.

 

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?