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Coastal Coasting: The Boardwalk, with its historic Big Dipper roller coaster, is the best place to take out-of-towners and kids. Best People & Places Readers' Choice Awards NO ONE IRRITATES US more than high-profile politicians and gadflies. Cases in point: Robert Norse and Keith Sugar. Of course, Keith has one advantage over Bob--some voters think he's a darn good politician. Then again, a lot of disgruntled constituents want to recall Sugar--go figure. No one, however, is more irritating than our own Bruce Bratton, who graciously offered the following acceptance speech: Words almost fail me at once again winning the best Irritating Local Personality. Lee Quarnstrom, Robert Norse and I briefly discussed running as a slate, but we got so mad at each other we dropped the idea. I want to thank all the folks who voted for me, I have your names. It was a particularly good year for local scandals, and our voters were definitely taking notes. Coming out on top was the continuing Peter Chang soap opera. Charged by DA Ron Ruiz with witness tampering, ex-DA (in the Jurassic age before Art Danner) Chang responded by ... running for Ruiz's job. Second place went to the battle of the bookstores, as megachain Borders muscled its way into downtown Santa Cruz. The plight of the homeless--homeless skateboarders, that is--came in third. We were puzzled by the number of people who voted for Leonardo DiCaprio's latest bomb, until we realized they were talking about the beach, not The Beach. We're still trying to determine if the same people who voted the Asti Cafe a prime singles spot also chose it as the Silver winner in the Best Place for a Last Date category. Best irritating local personality GOLD Bruce Bratton (Columnist, Metro Santa Cruz) SILVER Robert Norse (Homeless Activist) BRONZE Keith Sugar (Da Mayor) Best local politician GOLD Fred Keeley (California State Assemblyman) SILVER Mike Rotkin BRONZE Keith Sugar (Da Mayor) Best local scandal GOLD Peter Chang SILVER Borders BRONZE Skatepark saga Best local website GOLD www.cruzio.com SILVER www.goodhumans.com BRONZE www.kittycam.com Best local park for dogs BRONZE Lighthouse Field SILVER Its Beach BRONZE San Lorenzo Park Best park for people GOLD Forest of Nisene Marks State Park SILVER Frederick Street Park BRONZE Harvey West Park Best place for illicit rendezvous GOLD The Beach SILVER Lighthouse Point BRONZE Blue Lagoon Cocktail Lounge 923 Pacific Ave., SC, 423-7117 Best place to bring out-of-towners GOLD The Boardwalk SILVER West Cliff Drive BRONZE Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf Best place to go on a first date GOLD The Beach SILVER Shadowbrook Restaurant 1750 Wharf Rd., Capitola, 475.1511 BRONZE West Cliff Drive Best place to go on a last date GOLD The Beach SILVER Asti Cafe 715 Pacific Ave., SC, 423.7337 BRONZE McDonald's Best place to take kids GOLD The Boardwalk SILVER The Beach BRONZE Frederick Street Park Best recall candidate GOLD Keith Sugar SILVER Mike Rotkin BRONZE Michael Hernandez Best silly local ordinance GOLD The Camping Ban SILVER No Skateboarding BRONZE Hate-Free Zone Best start-up company GOLD Lutris Technologies SILVER Nub Chai BRONZE Gray Zone Productions Best Food & Drink       Reader's Choice       Critic's Choice Best Arts       Reader's Choice       Critic's Choice Best Music & Nightlife       Reader's Choice       Critic's Choice Best Goods & Services       Reader's Choice       Critic's Choice Best People & Places       Critic's Choice Best Sports & Recreation       Reader's Choice       Critic's Choice Best Write-in Web Exclusive: More Goldies [ Santa Cruz | MetroActive Central | Archives ]