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Nuz

Fresh POOP

Local ocean wallowers will be glad to hear that the Surfrider Foundation is geared up with a new local lab and is testing the waters again. As of Feb. 12, the poop counters--well, let's be polite and call 'em fecal coliform bacterium counters--are enjoying their new digs at Soquel High School. Science teacher Terry Eckhart heard the Riders needed a new lab space and found them one at the school, recognizing the educational possibilities of having a working laboratory on hand--as opposed to those tedious science-class lab periods.

Local Surfrider spokesperson Jim Montgomery says the foundation is hoping to get students involved in the actual testing. "It would be a good volunteer base for the foundation," he says. "This opens up a whole world of possibilities as an educational tool for the kids. Around here a lot of the kids surf and it's good to get them aware that there is pollution in the water."

If you remember our last dispatch on the Surfriders, well, the good-deed group is still looking for $5,000 in donations to update its water testing method. The new equipment would bring the cost of each test down from about $10 to less than a dime, and so the gear would pay for itself in about a year.

Montgomery commends the job county water testers have been doing while the Surfriders have been off-line, but notes that his organization still has an important role. "We're a watchdog group," he says. "With county funding, anything could change in a week. We want to keep the pressure on."

The Surfrider hotline number for water quality info has a new prefix and is now 476-POOP.


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Call Boxing Match

Speaking of surfers, some who call themselves Surfers Against Drowning are counting the days before the Santa Cruz City Council decides the fate of their beloved rescue call boxes along West Cliff Drive. The local sea dogs with the funny name are dead serious about keeping their boxes, which contain emergency phones and flotation rings that are viewed as somewhat obsolete by Fire Chief Ron Prince in this age of cell phones. Some boxes have fallen into disrepair and Prince has expressed concern that the floatable life-savers could endanger would-be rescuers by drawing them too close to the cliffs.

SAD feels otherwise. Members of the loose-knit organization of local lifesavers have pounded the pavement, gathering more than 2,500 signatures and spreading the word about the Feb. 27 council meeting. "We're gaining ground," says Andrew Ward, a city lifeguard for 10 years who has taken part in many marine rescues and is fighting for the boxes. "The fire chief seems to be wavering, but he still seems to want to save money and doesn't seem to understand this whole issue."

The group is looking into whether the phones were installed with a maintenance plan and whether it was used. If there isn't a plan, says Ward, SAD will seek one. Ward also believes the lifesaving equipment is useful. In 1993, he says, he watched as a surfer friend was pulled to safety from the inside bowl of Mitchell's Cove by a citizen using one of the rings. "The Fire Department doesn't keep statistics, but I know these things have saved lives," he says.


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The Gaul of It All

The old S.T.A.R.T. Clinic on Lincoln Street has been reborn as the oddly named Frog Fitness. What's odder, though, is their tagline--Vive la Difference. Far be it from us to conclude that some sort of cultural slur was intended here, but to check, Nuz placed a call to the new health club's owner, Christophe Bellito.

Why did he come up with that name? "Two reasons," explains the heavily accented French guy. "This is what the French used to be called in World War II. Also, a frog is different and we want to be different."

Mon Dieu, does Monsieur understand the danger of culturally derogatory humor in this town?

"It is derogatory, but I can laugh at myself," replies the gallant Gaul. In fact, this garçon is wired for fun. "Nobody in this town offers a fun program. Gold's Gym tells you it's for serious fitness. Well, we want to focus on the other 80 percent of the population."

And just how, besides making it safe for the rest of us to pull his li'l frog leg, will Belitto accomplish this lighthearted approach?

"You usually walk into a place and see a list of things you can't do," he says. "We'll have a list of fun stuff you can do. Also we'll be giving French lessons on tape for people to listen to while they're on their exercycles. "And," promises the fun-loving Frenchman, "We're not going to conduct any nuclear testing on these grounds."


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Bombs Away

Imagine the surprise of students at the California State University at Monterey campus when a "dud" hand grenade was found about 150 feet from the front door of their dorm, apparently baggage left behind by the former tenant, Fort Ord. It brings a whole new meaning to the phrase: "I bombed in Chem."

According to Curt Gandy, director of the Fort Ord Toxics Project, a nonprofit that is keeping a fisheye on the former military base's au revoir, one teensy grenade is the least of the new tenants' problems. "They've found hundreds of thousands of unexploded ordnance," says Gandy, adding that cleanup crews have even found 2.5-inch diameter rockets, "real Rambo stuff."

And, "cleanup" may not be the most operative word. Fort Ord aims to reduce the lead in the soil to 1,864 parts per million. Not good enough, says Gandy. Most residential areas set lead limits at 150 parts per million "and that's considered high," he adds. Part of the problem is that Fort Ord--a federal entity--is transferring 82 percent of its property to the Bureau of Land Management--which is allowed to sidestep many environmental guidelines.

Neighbors and future students who don't wish to bite the bullets can attend a public hearing about the Fort Ord transfer on Monday (7:30pm) at the Steinbeck Forum in Monterey. For more info, call Fort Ord Toxics Project at 375-9464.

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