Of all the things to celebrate about life in Santa Cruz—nature, culture, the beach—we haven’t given enough credit to our great dive bars. They are more than just drinking spots, but places where, you know, everyone is a friend you have or haven’t met yet and yeah, everyone knows your name. Cheers.
Richard Stockton set out to hit quite a few of them and not only drink in each, but check out the bathrooms. Not in a pervy way, of course, but let’s face it, if you are drinking in volume, you are releasing in volume also, and to do it in a clean, comfortable place means a lot. Back in the old days, cleanliness wasn’t that big a priority, but it is now.
Maybe you want to get an Uber or a DD and follow Richard’s trail and have a drink in each bar. I want to. Bring them this issue and hand it to the bartenders. Or leave it in the bathroom.
Richard, who is literally a comedian (there’s a story about him in this issue), has a way of meeting people and getting their stories in print. I love that and hope you will too.
In other fronts, there’s a new big health and wellness fair coming up at the MAH this weekend, the opposite of your dive bar journey. Here’s a chance to sample all the newest in the wellness world. Check Kristen McLaughlin’s story for your health trip.
Maybe you caught Ruthie Foster at the Santa Cruz Blues Festival years back. She’s a big name around the country and she’s returning here to play Moe’s Alley this week. As our article says: “10 studio albums in, Foster has developed a rich voice that lives at the crossroads of gospel, blues, soul and country and has garnered her six Grammy nominations, with the most recent being a win for Best Contemporary Blues Album by way of 2024’s Mileage.”
It doesn’t get much bigger than that.
So much news in the Cruz is about tradeoffs. We want housing, but are conflicted about big buildings; we want solar and wind power, but are conflicted about the lithium batteries needed to store the energy.
Our top news story this week has another conflict: we want to catch criminals, and roadside cameras are a tool that helps catch them, but we worry that the technology will be used for more devious purposes, like turning immigrants in to ICE or violating personal freedoms. Todd Guild has the story for you.
Have you ever wondered what wine pairs best with your cat? (No, not to eat.) You are going to have to check out Mark C. Anderson’s dining column for the answer to that one.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
WILD RIDE Shot of a pelican, taken on the wharf by the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Photograph by Davis Banta
GOOD IDEA
The Promised Land Brewery in Gilroy developed a new craft beer called “The Wave,” after “Krazy” George Henderson, the man who invented the act that has been popular in stadiums across the country since 1981.
Owner and brewer Brian Schwab said a chance meeting with Krazy George in Los Gatos led to the idea. Later, Henderson came to the Gilroy brewery and loved the beer. Henderson said at Britannia Arms in Capitola, where they held a release party on Sept. 6, “I thought he was joking. Two days later he called me and already had the label designed. It’s amazing.”
GOOD WORK
You can support the Homeless Garden Project and have fun doing it.
The Sustain Supper on Oct. 18 is a farm-to-table fundraising event that supports trainees and programs. The supper celebrates and supports the work of trainees through a festive four-course farm dinner. Guests include acclaimed poet Jane Hirshfield as the keynote speaker and renowned chef Jozseph Schultz of India Joze. As always, the evening will feature live music, wines and beverages, a guided farm tour, and more.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
‘It is not the job of law enforcement or government agencies to police thought.’
—John Cohen, an intelligence official who worked in the Biden, Obama and Bush administrations
