2nd Annual Filipino American History Month Festival  

By ROY RECIO

Join the Tobera Project for our 2nd annual Filipino American History Month festival this Saturday on the Watsonville City Plaza from 12-5pm. 

The event will celebrate and honor our proud and rich history here in the Pajaro Valley since the 1920’s. The festival will feature cultural arts and traditional food vendors from the region. As well, guests can observe indigenous music from the southern Philippines known as kulintang, which is a rhythmic series of large and small gongs and bells. There will also be a traditional martial arts demonstration, poetry by acclaimed writer Shirley Ancheta and a 3-piece instrumental jazz/groove band called Ripplings. 

October is also Filipino American History Month. Locally, the Tobera Project has a lot to be proud of with the naming and opening of the Tabasa Gardens low-income housing development on Freedom Blvd. A vibrant and  beautiful mosaic-tiled mural will signify the first-ever landmark in Watsonvile showcasing a Filipino presence. The 53-unit dwelling constructed by Eden Housing will spotlight the Tabasa family who are iconic in the Filipino community. It is schedule to open in December. 

Recently, the Monterey County Board of Supervisors issued a formal  apology to the Filipino community for the 1930 Anti-Filipino Watsonville Race Riots that took the life of 22-year-old Fermin Tobera who was shot dead at the Murphy’s Crossing labor camp. He is the namesake of the project. 

Through our partnership with UCSC we have garnered a prestigious National Endowment of the Humanities grant to propel our grand exhibit at the MAH next April. The exhibit, entitled Watsonville Is In the Heart, will culminate years of research gathered from families of the Manong Generation of the Pajaro Valley. Tobera was a member of the Manong Generation. His story and death of injustice has left a dark cloud over our community. Almost 100 years later we have finally found our voice to tell his story - our story. Our history in helping to build the infrastructure of the region's billion-dollar agri-business over the decades. 

Join us for this free, fun and festive community event. More information about the Watsonville Is In the Heart digital archive and exhibition HERE.

Talk on El Salvador By Vidalina Morales

By ALLAN FISHER

Vidalina Morales is an international advocate for human and environmental rights who currently serves as president of the Association of Economic and Social Development, (ADES), based in Cabañas in northern El Salvador. She was a key leader in a 14-year campaign that made El Salvador the first nation on earth to ban metals mining to save its rivers. 

In addition to its work to end mining, ADES has been central to the spread of organic agriculture in El Salvador, a leader in the struggle against water privatization, and at the cutting edge of community organizing to counter violence and advance women's rights. Morales has been at the forefront of the campaign to drop fraudulent charges against five prominent "water defenders," including ADES Director Antonio Pacheco, who were arrested by the Bukele government in January 2023. Thanks to the constant organizing of the community and international solidarity allies, the water defenders were transferred to house arrest in September after eight months of unjust detention. She is an inspiring and powerful speaker with extensive experience building international solidarity in a global struggle to protect people and the planet from corporate greed.

Hear Vidalina Morales speak on Sunday, Oct. 8 from 2 to 4pm at 14 Pera Drive, Watsonville, CA. English translation provided. Call Allan at 415-954-2763 or German at 831-234-6559 for info or directions to the house. See poster below.

Affordable Housing Conference Oct. 14

By JOHN HALL

A conference, “Affordable Housing in Santa Cruz: Diverse Perspectives on Our Crisis,” will be held on Sat., Oct. 14 from 9:15am - 3:15pm at the London Nelson Community Center, rm. 3, 301 Cedar Street in Santa Cruz.

The in-person event features three panels discussing the crisis of affordable housing in our community — how did we get here, where are we at, and where can we go from here? Come and hear diverse perspectives. Whether you're a concerned citizen, a local policymaker, or simply want to learn more, we hope you will take part. Don't miss this opportunity for dialogue. Together, let's work towards finding solutions for affordable housing in Santa Cruz.

Organized by Our Downtown, Our Future, the conference co-sponsors include the UCSC Student Housing Coalition, the Campaign for Sustainable Transportation, Housing Santa Cruz County, the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership, and the Santa Cruz Climate Action Network.

Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley will make opening remarks. Panelists include former county supervisor Gary Patton, UCSC professor Miriam Greenberg, Housing Santa Cruz County Executive Director Elaine Johnson, affordable housing developer Diana Alfaro, former Santa Cruz Mayor Bruce Van Allen, and more.

For the detailed program and to register, go to HERE. Tickets are sliding scale - free to $25 - include lunch with Erik’s Deli's non-vegan and vegan sandwiches and salads. For questions, email HERE.

Moss Landing Artist Opens Her Art Home

By SARAH RINGLER

This Sunday is your last chance to visit Nancy Russell's Art Home at 10942 Pieri Court, in Moss Landing from 11-5pm. Moss Landing is beautiful at this time of year and Nancy's home is a real pleasure. Just down the street from her place on Potrero Rd. is an easy-to- access expanse of beach, part of Salinas River State Beach.

Phantoms & Angels on Clement & Arguello

By WOODY REHANEK

 The Magician card slips from the deck

& you carry it down Clement Street.

You wear a gold ring to honor

the angels that good deeds bring. 

Peeling back layers of history--

Irish, Germans, Jews, Russians, 

Chinese, hipsters, Vietnamese--

you thank the powers that be

for the language, the flavors,

the good deeds & favors,

cafes & bistros, sidewalks & places:

Resilience wears a thousand faces.

Sutro built electric trolleys

to bring City people from 

through the Clement urban village

to his baths at Land's End.

It's an open secret:

This stretch of avenues

unites people in survival,

diversity, respect & revival. 

Upstairs homes, street-level shops: 

@ Clement & Arguello, so solidaire

Albert Camus devours an invincible 

 summer pastry @ the Arsicault Bakery.

Michael J. Fox frequents the Future Past

& Yeats holds forth in the Plough & Stars.

Gary Kamiya lingers in the Foggy Notion;

Queen Letizia feasts at the Spanish Table.

On 3rd, Xi Jinping in Tenglong Chinese

bans "sissy men," demanding masculinity.

Trump throws fits in the Tantrum Shop,

Paul Madonna's draws the Park Life gallery, 

Silverstein's laughing at the Wishing Well.

@ 4th & Clement, Schubert waltzes 

through the Blue Danube Cafe.

Ho Chi Minh frequents Mai's Vietnamese

& Kim Jong is #1 in Mokuku Korean. 

Mao Zedong waits tables at China First

& Rama X rules King's Tai Cuisine.

You whisk by New Lien Hing at 5th,

hear Bono sing at Neck of the Woods, 

enter Kim Novak's Scarlet Lounge, 

& mix with Gee's Bend quilters in Fabrix.

6th & Clement, Green Apple Books: 

Alice Walker sings "Don't let white 

privilege grind you down."

Basho writes fresh haiku on 

every pack of Vinh Khang Herbs. 

Damp with fog, you wander past

Yong Fong Dry Goods on 7th.

Kikaku is in Sakesan Sushi Bistro.

 King Kamehameha lords it 

over the Hawaiian Style BBQ.

@ 8th & Clement, Leonardo

lingers at the Venus Cafe.

Inside Pinelli's Flowerland,

Georgia paints another day.   

Rodin shapes a muscular sculpture

at Richmond Clay House;

Neal Cassady parks Further

outside Hamburger Haven.

Issa whispers haiku at Sakura Sushi.

Miles & Jerry laugh & jam in 11/4- 

ever time inside Exploring Music, 

absolutely free. On 9th,

Agnes Mo roosts at the Lime Tree;

Barbara Lee inhabits the Heroes Club. 

Sojun plays the sakuhachi flute

in the Cherry Blossom Bakery...

Deepak chants "Sankalpa" on 10th 

in the Keeva Indian Kitchen;

John re-imagines Dreamers Kitchen; 

 Henry Miller finds love once more

at the French Cafe la Flore;

Madame Blavatsky lives next door.

 Cross the street & turn back east 

toward Arguello: at 12th & Clement,

Robert Hunter crafts Infinity Roses 

& Jack Lalane hawks Yami Yogurt.

Modigliani elongates inside 

the Richmond Clay House on 11th.

Sogi walks into the Shabu Club 

& Shiseido Natural Wonder Cosmetics.

Wu Pen browses at Buddhism feng shui;

cannabis dealers hit North Cal Trading;

sumi wrestlers wolf All Stars Donuts.

East on 9th & Clement,

Steve Jobs sells Fujis in Apple Land 

& Kerouac lingers at Cable Car Spirits.

Dimaggio scoops up Marilyn 

at the Clement Seafood Center.

You find Morrison at the Lost Marbles;

Tsai Ing-wen munches Tasty Taiwanese.

Einstein chalks graffiti in Steins on 8th; 

tourists sample Yin Xing Produce 

& munch gourmet in Dim Sum Cafe.

Pigpen dawdles at Clement Dung Market.  

You brush by Blue Angels at Wing Hing 

Seafood & encounter Bruce Lee 

 in the Tat Wong Kung Fu Academy.

7th & Clement: Lose yourself

in the block-long Kamei Housewares 

& explore Schubert's Bakery next door

with Willy Brandt & Angela Merkel. 

Madame Chiang holds court 

at the Mamahuhu Chinese Restaurant.

Take the middle path past Lao Tzu 

& Tu Mu at Wing Lee Bakery & BBQ.

Janis belts the blues in the Bitter End;

Neil warms the Wheat Field Bakery;

Ed Ricketts collects tide pool life 

in 6th Avenue Aquarium & Flowers.

Coco hits the Trend 2000 on Mondays;

Stephen Crane sells lucky red badges 

outside the Toy Boat Dessert Cafe.

On 5th & Clement, you encounter 

Elia Kazan in Kitchen Istanbul;

Onitsura in the Koja Kitchen;

Kilmer in True Value Hardware;

 Octavio Paz in Taqueria Los Mayas; 

& Po Ching in the Cheung Hong Deli.

Gabby Hayes enters Scissor Me 

Whiskers, then he reconsiders. 

Suu Kyi fakes innocence, Rohinga-

bashing at the Burma Super Star.

Alex Haley @ 4th & Clement

roots for the Kinship Salon; 

Bill Gates founders in Coder School;

Fushima is low-key at Wako Japanese.

Joanna greets you at Gazeebo Florist.

Sophia Loren frequents Giorgio's Pizza,

Charles Schultz sells Sparky's Balloons,

Jane Fonda works out at Healthy Life,

Imelda sells shoes @ Amblard Leather.

Marshall McLuhan goes global

@ the Village Pizzeria on Arguello...

Until we learn the lessons of history,

we remain our own worst enemy.

************

 Morning mist lifts off the avenues  

where diversity is the holy momentum 

 in the fabric of life & change.

The moon is full, the stars align, 

the solar wind is gold & ripe.

They say seven blameless people 

can save the world from evil.

Walking with seniors, hipsters, workers, 

phantoms & angels in grit & grandeur, 

we become true believers

 among scattered crows & bundled roses

on the Pacific Rim of the Global Village.

We embrace the living structure, 

the urban pipeline, the complete crazy

quilt pageantry of the open street.

Photo by TARMO HANNULA 

Cow and cowbird out standing in their field at Arana Gulch.

Santa Cruz County Covid-19 Report - Order Free At-Home Test Kits

By SARAH RINGLER

The California Department of Public Health reports on Covid-19 for The Santa Cruz County Health Department. They regularly release data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county. Since cases are still appearing, and there are still vulnerable people, I will continue reporting the graphs below.

At-home Covid-19 test kits that were sent free from the government earlier are now expiring. The program that started in Jan. 2022 has distributed 600 million test kits. If you still have those tests, before using, check the date on your box or go HERE to get more information. Recently, the Biden administration announced that it will provide four free tests per household that will be delivered by the US Postal Service. Go HERE to order.

The state's website reports that the current total of confirmed Covid deaths in Santa Cruz County is at 333, the same as last week.

The three graphs below give a picture of what is happening as of Oct. 4. The first graph below shows the Rt Number. Numbers above one show the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing.

The second graph below shows data that the Health Department collects for Covid from wastewater at the City Influent, for the city of Santa Cruz, and from the Lode Street pump stations for the county. This graph shows wastewater level to be below Center for Disease Control's moderate risk threshold.

The third graph below shows hospitalizations. Click to see more information on hospitalizations HERE.



The vaccination data for the county has stayed fairly constant increasing very little over time. Go HERE for new information on vaccination records, treatments, vaccines, tests, safety in the workplace and more.

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Fashion Street - A musician works the street scene at Pearl Alley in Santa Cruz.

Labor History Calendar - Sept. 29- Oct. 5, 2023

a.k.a Know Our History Lest We Forget

Oct. 6, 1845: First US co-op store opens in Boston.

Oct. 6, 1986: 1,700 female flight attendants win 18-year lawsuit, $37 million in damages from United Airlines which fired them for marrying.

Oct. 7, 1879: Birth of Joe Hill in Gavle, Sweden.

Oct. 8, 1916: Soldiers attack IWW hall in Sydney, Australia.

Oct. 8, 2020: More than 600 arrested on third day of national strikes against “labor law” reform” in Indonesia.

Oct. 9, 1982: Solidarnosc union outlawed in Poland.

Oct. 10, 1912: IWW strike at Little Falls, NY.

Oct. 10, 1933: Cotton fields struck by 18,000 workers in Pixley, CA; 4 are killed, pay hike won.

Oct. 10, 1995: French general strike begins.

Oct. 11, 1424: Death of Jan Zizka, leader of the Bohemian Revolution.

Oct. 12, 1492: Native Americans discover Columbus. 

Oct. 12,1898: Seven miners killed stopping scabs by company guards in Virden, Ill. 

Oct. 12, 1902: 14 miners killed, 22 wounded by scab herders at Pana, Ill. 

Labor History Calendar has been published yearly by the Hungarian Literature Fund since 1985.

"If the workers take a notion,

They can stop all speeding trains,

Every ship upon the ocean

They can tie with mighty chains. Every wheel in the creation, Every mine and every mill, Fleets and armies of the nation,

Will at their command stand still."

Joe Hill - Oct. 7 Happy Birthday

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

Spanish Seafood and Fideos

By SARAH RINGLER 

Similar to paella, a Spanish seafood and rice dish, this dish uses very thin pasta called fideo as the base. It absorbs the salty ocean taste of the shrimp, mussels and oysters, and adds Spanish smoked paprika, tomatoes, saffron, and white wine. Accessibility to good and fresh seafood like we have in the Monterey Bay area, makes this dish hard not try.

The myth that pasta first came to Italy when Marco Polo brought it back from his trip to China in 1295, seemed to come from an 1929 story in a trade journal, Macaroni Journal, now called Pasta Journal. Evidence from Chinese, Arabs, Greeks and Persians records, according to a July 1986 The Atlantic magazine article titled "Pasta" by Corby Kummer, show much earlier references to boiled dough covered in a sauce going back to the first century. The same article points to documented evidence of "a basket of dried pasta" that was part of the estate of a Genoese soldier in 1279, sixteen years after Polo returned from his legendary adventure.  

Spain and its former colonies also love pasta and a popular one is called fideo, made of very thin strings of pasta like the Italian angel hair, that are sautéed, covered with sauce and cooked. This particular recipe is from Martha Stewart's website where she was promoting Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow's book, "Spain: A Culinary Road Trip."

I cut the recipe in half to feed a smaller group of people but the full recipe below feeds eight people. It calls for a lot of fish stock. Just using water will dilute the flavor. I have added Batali's and Paltrow's recipe for fish stock but I did not try it first. I had frozen unpeeled shrimp so I simmered the shells from the peeled shrimps in some water. Another better option is to use Hondashi, an instant powder made from dried and smoked bonito that is commonly used in Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea and the US, and makes an excellent fish stock. 

Fideos and Seafood

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil  

1 pound fideos or angel hair pasta, broken into 1-inch pieces 

1 large onion, finely chopped 

2 cloves garlic, very finely chopped 

1 teaspoon hot pimenton (Spanish smoked paprika) 

1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes  

6 cups fish stock or use water from steaming shrimp 

1 cup dry white wine 

1 dried bay leaf  

Large pinch saffron threads  

1 pound mussels or oysters, scrubbed clean

1 pound medium shrimp, in the shell  

1 pound clams, scrubbed clean

In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat. Add fideos and cook, stirring frequently until well browned, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer fideos to a bowl and set aside. 

Add onion, garlic, and pimenton to pot and cook until onion begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Using your hands, break up tomatoes and add to pot along with their juices. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring frequently, until tomatoes have broken down and sauce has thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, place stock, wine, bay leaf, and saffron in another large Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Add mussels, shrimp, and clams and cook until all the clams and mussels have opened and shrimp is opaque, 4 to 6 minutes. Transfer mussels, shrimp, and clams to a large bowl and set aside. 

Add shellfish cooking liquid and fideos to tomato sauce. Cook, stirring frequently, until the fideos have absorbed a lot of the liquid and are soft, 10 to 15 minutes. Add mussels, shrimp, and clams and simmer until just heated through. Serve immediately. 

Mario Batali and Gwyneth Paltrow’s Fish Stock 

3 pounds fish scraps from non-oily fish, such as heads and tails from rockfish or cod

1 onion, coarsely chopped 

2 ribs celery, coarsely chopped 

2 dried bay leaves 

1 teaspoon black peppercorns 

Place all ingredients in a large stockpot with enough cold water to cover. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Skim off foam and discard. Reduce heat and simmer gently, uncovered, for 25 minutes, skimming off foam as necessary. Strain through a fine-meshed sieve. Let cool and refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 week.

Welcome to Serf City Times Our county has problems and many people feel left out. Housing affordability, racism and low wages are the most obvious factors. However, many groups and individuals in Santa Cruz County work tirelessly to make our county a better place for everyone. These people work on the environment, housing, economic justice, health, criminal justice, disability rights, immigrant rights, racial justice, transportation, workers’ rights, education reform, gender issues, equity issues, electoral politics and more. Often, one group doesn’t know what another is doing. The Serf City Times is dedicated to serving as a clearinghouse for those issues by letting you know what is going on, what actions you can take and how you can support these groups.This is a self-funded enterprise and all work is volunteer. 

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