An 8-million dollar grant program will support art in California’s state, regional, and local parks, including painting, performances, and other arts presentations with the goal of drawing more people to the parks and increasing support. When Armando Quintero, head of California’s State Parks system brought his mom to Ano Nuevo State Park, she danced along the path, asking in Spanish if this was heaven. Yes, he said to his mother who had been suffering with Alzheimer’s. When he visited Big Basin State Park, paintings and photos of the CZU fire which took out most buildings and damanged the park’s iconic trees, he was able to see the progression of growth since the fires, and connect emotionally to the park’s history. In this interview we hear his vision for the way art and natural beauty can interact to build emotional connections to nature and history.Eligible projects must be open to the general public. Projects must be located on land that is owned or managed by a local city, county, park or community service district, land trusts, regional park or open space district, nonprofit organization or foundation or any other entity other than federal and state agencies. Both indoor and outdoor spaces can be considered. Additionally, school property is considered a park when there is a joint-use agreement and park signage indicating the public is welcome to use a designated outdoor area, such as a schoolyard, for recreation during appropriate hours such as after-school, weekends and summer. https://artsincaliforniaparks.org/grants-program/

The Santa Cruz Guitar Company celebrates 50 years as one of the most influential guitar shops in the world. Richard Hoover, the company’s founder, looks back on fifty years of making steel-string guitars.  Eric Clapton and Tony Rice have played Santa Cruz Guitar Company guitars, among other luminaries. Lutherie is an art, a science, and a business, a labor of love and more. The celebration concert takes place at the Rio Theater on September 19th. For more information: https://santacruzguitar.com/

FREE PRE SHOW BLOCK PARTY

12:00 – 4:30

Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos Inc.

(Outdoors, Behind the Building)

1817 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz, CA 95062

Music • Food • Vendors

FEATURING

SambaDá, SONiA, Shane Hall, Steve Palazzo, Bill Coulter, Adam Traum, Diggin Trails, Colin Cotter and Sumaia Jackson, Ben Torres, and Matt Weir as M.C.

Sarah Goodyear is a journalist and author who has covered cities and transportation for publications such as Grist, CityLab, and Streetsblog. Doug Gordon is a TV producer and writer who is also a neighborhood safe streets advocate. They are authors, along with Aaron Naparstek, of the book Life After Cars: Freeing Ourselves from the Tyranny of the Automobile. They are the hosts of the podcast The War on Cars.

Also referenced in the conversation was a video about the innovative way Ghent (Belgium) removed cars from the city.

UCSC professor Nolan Higdon has a unique take on the impact of the recent court settlement of nearly $18 billion, plus some changes in the platform. How much will it matter to the overall impact of the platform on society at large? We also discuss AI and its impact on the classroom.

Athlete Catherine Breed is fearless as she aims to swim the 900- mile coast of California. She has endured jellyfish stings and whale poop to set records for the fastest swim and now she has set her sights on this audacious project titled “Swim California”. I caught up with her during one of her rest days in Monterey. As the Trump administration seeks to open California waters to oil drilling and deep sea mining, Breed wants us all to appreciate and protect this world-wide gem of a coastline.

Each year for the past five years, I have taught a podcasting course in Dingle,Ireland, in the far westernmost, rural part of the country. This year 35 UCSC students spent six weeks studying podcasting and writing there. Listen to the whimsical results of their assignment to create 7-minute pieces of audio fun.

On Nov. 3, voters across California will have an opportunity to weigh in on Proposition 44. The measure, if passed, would require federally qualified health centers, or FQHCs, to spend at least 90% of their annual revenue on expenses that advance the mission of the health centers. If the FQHCs fail to do so, they’ll face monetary penalties levied by the state.

Proponents of the measure believe it will introduce a higher degree of accountability when it comes to delivering services to patients, while opponents say patient care is already front and center and the measure will overburden health centers that are already under tremendous strain.

Recently joining host PK Hattis on Talk of the Bay were three people who fall in the “no” on Prop. 44 camp. They include Santa Cruz Community Health CEO Anita Aguirre, Santa Cruz Community Health Chief Strategy and Impact Officer Dena Loijos, and former president of the California Medical Association and longtime Santa Cruz County physician Dr. Donaldo Hernandez.

Talk of the Bay did reach out to organizers with the “yes” on Prop. 44 campaign, but I did not hear back before broadcast.

NOTES

https://ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_44,_Spending_Requirements_for_Federally_Qualified_Health_Centers_Initiative_(2026)

https://www.kcra.com/article/california-ballot-measure-clinic-funding-accountability-prop-44/73379618

Longtime Monterey and Santa Cruz County resident Kate Hitt calls her small poetry press Many Names Press, but she’s a woman who has worn many hats. After a long career in printing and graphic design, Kate got a job with benefits driving a school bus for Pajaro Valley Unified School District. It was physically hard work, but spiritually rewarding as she got to know the great variety of children and working people of this area. This year Kate published her first book, covering the experience in poetry, prose, photography, and watercolor. It’s a lovely and thoughtful view of life inside the bus and out in the fields.

For more information:

In June, healthcare providers, elected leaders and community advocates gathered in Watsonville to celebrate the grand opening of Encompass Community Services’ new state-of-the art Sí Se Puede Behavioral Health Center.

While Encompass has been providing support to those struggling with mental illness and substance use disorder at facilities in Watsonville for decades, this newly-renovated health center offers the nonprofit not only an opportunity to expand its footprint and increase the overall number of patients it is able to serve, but it also gives community members a safe, quality facility with bilingual services that are conducive to stability and recovery.

While the ribbon cutting ceremony marked a proud accomplishment for Encompass, which spent over a decade trying to get the project over the finish line, this project also presents an opportunity for the public to hear from local experts about the condition of behavioral health treatment programs in Santa Cruz County more broadly. What has helped them improve services in recent years and what challenges now threaten that progress?

To help us answer these questions and many more, Talk of the Bay host PK Hattis spoke with Encompass Senior Manager of Adult Residential Programs Jillian Riedenauer and Program Manager Jorge Gutierrez in July.

Saime Matsu is an Associate Professor at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, where she has taught the Turkish language for more than 20 years. Throughout her career, she has played a significant role in teaching the Turkish language while serving as a valuable cultural bridge between the United States and Turkey, fostering mutual understanding and strengthening educational and cultural ties between the two countries. She is this year’s Executive Director for the annual Turkish Arts & Culture Festival, taking place August 29-30 at Monterey’s Customs House Plaza.

All are welcome to the 26th Annual Turkish Arts and Culture Festival for a weekend of free family fun, August 29, 11am-7pm, and August 30, 11am-6pm, at Custom House Plaza. Enjoy folk dancing performances, whirling dervishes, Turkish music, art exhibits, demonstrations of Turkish carpet weaving and ebru (the traditional art of water marbling), activities for children, and Turkish food and drinks. Presented by the Turkish American Association of California.