Plus Letters To the Editor
Like most people who’ve been around here for a while, I’ve heard many times over the years about Santa Cruz hosting the first of the “Acid Tests” thrown by Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters. But the stories were always a bit vague and hazy, and after a while started to sound a tad apocryphal. Who exactly was at this thing, anyway? Where was the Spread, the long-gone spot where it was held? Did the Grateful Dead really play, as many people swore, despite the fact that at the time, they technically weren’t even the Grateful Dead? There were just enough confusing and contradictory details to make me wonder if our claim on one of the landmark events of ’60s counterculture wasn’t some kind of collective misremembrance, or at least overblown.
In his cover story this week, Geoffrey Dunn explains exactly why those details are so confusing and contradictory. He’s done a mountain of research, from tracking down writings and news reports of the time to interviews with those who were there, to give easily the best and most complete account of what happened that night 50 years ago that you could ever hope to read. And fans of the book that made Kesey’s exploits famous, Tom Wolfe’s The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test—with its wild italicizations and generally taboo-shattering narrative—will recognize Dunn’s homage to its groundbreaking style. It’s not just the definitive story about the first Acid Test, it’s also a great read.
STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Change in Motion
Thank you for the helpful article “Looking to Pass” by Jacob Pierce (GT, 11/25). Good background reading for a transportation action focus group being held on Dec. 12, 1-5 p.m. at Calvary Episcopal Parish Hall (Cedar and Lincoln streets). It is one of the workshops requested in a survey taken in the recent Climate March and Rally held on Nov. 22 at San Lorenzo Park, attended by 350 people.
As facilitator for the transportation workshop, I have invited a cross-section of representatives from the Metro, Santa Cruz Bikes, the Campaign for Sensible Transportation, and the new rail initiative to be on hand as resource persons. We will look at the issues, learn about current initiatives and plans, and determine possible actions we can take as a group.
Some of the other workshops included are agriculture, water, rising sea levels, and radical system change. An opportunity for locals to give their input to climate change issues and what they want to do about them.
Dana Bagshaw | Santa Cruz Climate Action Network
Not Sustainable
Kudos to Bonnie Linden (GT, 11/18) for her efforts to lead us all to a more sustainable future with less waste. I did a similar thing with my waste stream only to get hammered by the Santa Cruz Utilities Department when I asked to not be charged for the service that I did not receive. When they refused my request I responded by refusing to pay the bogus (non) trash/recycling collection bill. I also refused to take the trash and recycling carts they wanted to give me. They responded by threatening to shut off the water supply to my property!
This seems like true extortion. Rather than encourage sustainability and waste reduction, the city bureaucrats act like the Mafia with their “My way or we break your leg, one size fits all” policy. Good luck with that promoting innovation in helping to build a sustainable future!
Drew Lewis | Santa Cruz Sustainable Living Center
Online Comments
Re: Bryan Stow
I have followed your story since the beginning. It’s an amazing source of strength and inspiration.
— Tisha
So happy for you, Bryan, spreading the word to kids. Even we grownups can learn from what happened to you. Go Bryan!
— Rose Kleuker
Bryan, I’m so happy to see such positive progression through such difficult times! The last time I saw you was teaching you in labs when you were in medic school! I wish you all luck and happiness in the future!
— Brandy
Bry! You are going to change this world with your wise words. I am so happy and excited for you on this next chapter of your beautiful life. You always have my love and support!
— Cat Eandi
Re: ‘Hollywood Ending’
The Landmark chain of theaters had a humble beginning many years ago when Gary Meyer and Mike Thomas started a movie theater in a garage at one or the other of their houses. Out of that—many years later—came the new owners of the Nickelodeon, more recently know as “the Nick.”
— Bill Raney, founder of the Nickelodeon Theater
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DEPTH CHARGE A herd of dolphins gives a whale-watching excursion a thrill just a few miles from Santa Cruz Harbor. Photograph by John Hunter.
WARMING TREND
The Santa Cruz Warming Center has opened its doors on two frigid nights so far this fall season, one night at the Calvary Episcopal Church downtown and another at the Quaker Meeting House. It’s been gaining momentum, too. The Santa Cruz City Council has begun talks about opening city-owned buildings to the Warming Center 10 nights a year.
KEY ISSUE
Out with the old, in with the vintage. Chaminade Resort and Spa is embarking on a $7.9 million remodel of its 156 guest rooms, incorporating design elements from the city’s railroad industry and the local art community. Antique refrigerators inspire the new mini-bar cabinets, the beds will feature abacus headboards, and oversized dominoes will become the room numbers.
“Every shaman knows you have to deal with the fire that’s in your audience’s eye.” — Ken Kesey
