This Week on the Central Coast…
New attractions (penguins and dinosaurs) are coming to Monterey. Santa Cruz County took major steps to help reduce carbon emissions while also announcing the annual Chowder Cook-off.
Monterey
The Monterey Bay Aquarium introduced a new baby penguin
A new baby penguin named Gerry joined the colony this week at the aquarium. Two other penguins, Boulders and Walvis, are acting as foster parents since Gerry had trouble hatching by themself. The aquarium wanted more experienced parents to raise them. Boulders and Walvis also raised Gerry’s father, Amigo, at the aquarium. This will be the first time the aquarium has had three generations living on the exhibit.
When a new chick is hatched, the aquarium moves that chick “behind the scenes” until they lose their baby plumage and begin to socialize with adults.
Gerry is still too young to know their sex, but it will be determined by blood test soon.
They were named after the late Gerry Low-Sabado, who was an “educator, community preservationist, and friend of the Aquarium” who was passionate about sharing the history of the Chinese Americans that contributed greatly to the region. Her great-grandmother is the first documented Chinese woman born in Monterey. Gerry’s ancestors were also the first in the area to fish at night while using lanterns hung from their boats to attract squid to the surface. This allowed them to fish away from others.
Randy Sabado, Gerry’s husband, said, “The internet says that penguins symbolize friendliness, community and determination, three traits that they share with Gerry.” Gerry's own personal motto was to “change with kindness.”
Jurassic Quest is making a visit to the peninsula
Jurassic Quest, a unique dinosaur experience and museum, will make a stop at the Monterey County Fairgrounds as part of its national tour. The event will feature life-sized models and animatronics of popular dinosaurs, all hand painted for accuracy. Some of the models move and roar and some even wear saddles for younger visitors to ride on. Bounce houses, fossil digs, photo ops, arts and crafts, and themed concessions and souvenirs are available.
The museum also hosts real fossils and replica casts. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable and eager to share the stories behind the artifacts.
Standard admission is $22, while an unlimited pass, which lets kids participate in the numerous activities as many times as they want, are $36.
Jurassic Quest will take place at the fairgrounds from February 17 to the 20th.
Santa Cruz
February ends with the Santa Cruz Chowder Cook-off
“Teams compete in the friendly competition, hoping to win prizes and bragging rights for Best Clam Chowder in the country’s largest and longest-running clam chowder competition!”
The annual competition will take place over the last weekend of February, dividing the days into amateur and pro competitions.
The event includes both Boston and Manhattan chowders. Participants will be evaluated by a panel of judges as well as guests. Competition categories include Best Manhattan, Best Boston, People’s Choice, Most Tasted, and Best Theme.
Tasters only have to pay $12 for a tasting kit, which includes a bowl, a spoon, tastings from six different teams, and a people’s choice ballot.
To top it all off, all tasting kit sales benefit the Santa Cruz parks and recreation department. “Last year, more than $80,000 was raised!”.
The competition is on Saturday, February 25, and Sunday, February 26. Amateur chowders will be presented and judged on Saturday and pros will be on Sunday.
Santa Cruz plans to achieve carbon neutrality ahead of the state goal
The city of Santa Cruz set an aggressive goal to help do its part in curbing climate change. The Climate Action Plan (CAP) would see the city achieve carbon neutrality by 2035, a full decade before California’s goal to achieve the same in 2045. The CAP will reduce the city’s emissions by electrifying buildings and cars, improving public transportation and reducing waste. The city says the largest carbon contributions come from transportation, which accounts for nearly 70%, and energy use from homes and businesses.
Last week, the city took action based on the CAP when they approved a plan to decarbonize existing buildings. Other goals include “electrifying 31% of existing residential buildings, getting 35% of drivers into electric vehicles and shifting in-city trips to 8% transit and 23% biking.”
The city, which wanted to make sure the plan wouldn’t cause more problems for residents depending on their economic level, hired a team of equity advisors. Those advisors are tasked with assessing the new measures to ensure that they are fair and equal. “If not designed with equity in mind, new infrastructure or appliances could make homes more valuable or attract wealthier residents, raising living costs or displacing lower-income people.”
Critics say the plan is too aggressive and should be scaled back in order to make it more achievable. They believe that if ambitious goals cannot be met, it will make a negative impression on the entire plan.
Supporters argue that the ambitious goals are a good thing. “You have to move the mileposts. Some of these efforts might not work, so you might as well try them now. You have to experiment,” said Dustin Mulvaney, professor of environmental studies at San Jose State University.
Calabasas Elementary will be the first electrified school in the PVUSD
Calabasas Elementary School in Watsonville will be the first carbon-neutral school in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District thanks to a partnership with Climatec. The company is adding solar shades in order to maximize its energy generation while still providing shade. Other improvements include replacing the lighting and HVAC systems with more eco-friendly options, as well as adding smart building controls to reduce costs.
Over the last year, many schools in the district faced frequent energy shut-offs due to the storms. Calabasas was one of the most affected. The new improvements will reduce the school’s electrical requirements from the standard grid.
“The district says the improvements will help save $8.9 million over the life of the equipment which will cover the cost of the $6.6 million program.” The amount of carbon reduction achieved by the upgrades is equivalent to taking 82 cars off the road or powering 74 homes for an entire year.