Spread more kindness and compassion. Kelly Anderson, Watsonville, Office Manager               I’d like to thank people more. I think everybody is just waiting for recognition. And if you say thank you, people love that. Adam Becerra, Santa Cruz, Chef             Donate everything I can. I’m...

Soccer players happy to have home turf back at Depot Park Teenagers in athletic shorts are running all over an open field on a sunny winter day, cutting and zigzagging as they kick a soccer ball up and down the 120-yard plane. The young athletes are in an all-out sprint. Their cleats dig at the green...

Highway 17 drivers can get ready to sound off. CalTrans is going to want to hear from you for an Access Management Plan to help the flow of traffic on the winding stretch of highway between Mount Hermon and Summit roads. Safety on Highway 17 has consistently improved due to various changes to the roadway, according...

Buttercup is gourmet cupcake heaven, Kelly’s ‘Kalifornia’ muffin has a little something extra Surely, I’m not the only one who enjoys the luscious guilt that accompanies a visit to Buttercup Cakes & Farm House Frosting on Locust Street in downtown Santa Cruz. I know I’m not alone in staring longingly at the illegally beautiful line-up of...

Politics get personal in Ava DuVernay’s powerful ‘Selma’ It’s been 50 years since the landmark Voting Rights Act was signed into law in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson. It may not sound like an exciting piece of legislation, but it made a world of difference to millions of black Americans, mostly in the south, who had...

Celebrating 40 “odd” years in 2015, Tandy Beal & Company presents a First Saturday Family Concert Series packed with talent, excitement, and plenty of fun for children and their grownups. First up is the powerhouse, percussion-driven vocal ensemble Linda Tillery and the Cultural Heritage Choir. Next is Keith Terry’s Crosspulse Percussion Ensemble, a rhythm-based, intercultural, participatory...

Folk, country, bluegrass—and ska? How does that old song go? One of these things is not like the other. That doesn’t seem to bother local trio Harbor House, who claim every single one of those genres as an influence, and even go so far as to call their genre “folk-ska.” They don’t think it’s as weird...

A Fungus Fair expert explains which mushrooms have medicinal properties, and why. As mycologists converged on the Louden Nelson Community Center last weekend for Santa Cruz’s 41st annual Fungus Fair, I joined the shroom-curious masses, in search of some specific answers into the alleged medicinal properties of mushrooms. Thanks to recent rains, the displays overflowed with...

Scanning the shelves of Deluxe Foods of Aptos, which carries an impressive selection of local and imported wines, I picked up a bottle of Trout Gulch Vineyards Chardonnay 2012, described as “a local favorite” by the busy market. With forward aromas of citrus fruit and tropical notes of pineapple, this popular wine sells for $17.99, so...

New Scotts Valley spot’s owner on the joy of cooking with beer Scotts Valley’s Hophead is a new haven for folks’ obsession with both food and drink. Owner Jay Patel opened the restaurant last year, fulfilling a lifelong dream. He quit his day job and scraped together every penny he could to do so. He has...