Kelly’s offers killer sliders and pumpkin pie, plus dining pet peeves and wine of the week It wasn’t my week. I loved the rain, but it was wreaking havoc on my dinner plans—courtyard wet—and lunch plans—power outage. But then there was Kelly’s French Bakery, reliably open, welcoming, and full of wet-weather revelers. A hot lunch was...

Baby Gramps gives new meaning to ‘old, weird America’ Baby Gramps won’t tell me his age, or his birth name, or who he was before he was, as his friends call him, “Gramps.” He’ll only say that he was born in Miami, but has lived in Seattle for the last 50 years, and that his first...

Is ‘Spectre’ really the ‘worst Bond in 30 years?’ Don’t believe the anti-hype And once again, the Englishman saves the world. Spectre has the second biggest opening of any of the 24 canonical EON Productions James Bond films. To inflame the Bond fever, some 15 earlier 007 films are now streaming on Hulu Plus, including the...

In her new book, Lisa Randall explores the scientific mysteries of dark matter, dinosaur extinction and more Lisa Randall builds models—not of ships or airplanes, but of the world. As a theoretical physicist, she assembles theories that attempt to explain the nature of matter and space, and some of them are doozies. Take this one: Dark...

KSCO’s Rosemary Chalmers and KPIG’s ‘Sleepy’ John Sandidge square off for Planet Cruz Comedy The head-to-head showdown between county supervisors Zach Friend and Ryan Coonerty was the hit of the last Planet Cruz show. On Saturday, the latest comedy-variety show from Richard Stockton, Sven Davis and company will revisit the format with two icons of the...

Mayor Don Lane talks about his letter on homelessness With the holidays on the way and wintry weather already arriving, many in Santa Cruz are prepping for holiday parties and vacation. Those living on the streets are getting ready for a colder, harsher reality, with overnight lows currently hovering around 40 degrees—and it’s only November. It...

Grand jury calls for regional composting agency Bonnie Linden’s house in Capitola is nestled by fruit trees and outfitted with a set of rain-catchment containers, a greywater system and bee boxes. Out front is a large box for free book exchanges and out back, in the corner of her garden, a compost bin. It’s that compost...

Crab fishermen feel the pinch with toxic algae bloom Local wildlife officials have delayed this year’s recreational and commercial crab fishing season indefinitely, due to a warm-water-induced toxic algae bloom that’s poisoning the food chain. The news has left a lot of us, well, crabbier than normal, and wondering just how dangerous the bloom could really...

Scotts Valley gets its own brewery Scotts Valley finally has its own brewery: Steel Bonnet. It’s a small operation, but locals are already enjoying it, and there’s a tap room people can visit, which opened about a month ago. It has eight taps, six year-round and two for seasonal varieties. Owner Donald Cramb, who’s originally from...

The Colligan Theater opens at the Tannery Arts Center under circumstances no one could have imagined when it was first conceived. That it even survived a long and complicated road to completion is a testament to sheer willpower It’s just hours before the first performance ever at the Tannery Arts Center’s Colligan Theater, and Julie James...