Santa Cruz preschool workers, who make less than store clerks, want a raise Santa Cruz child care workers are paid wages so low that some live in boats and trailer parks because they can’t afford to rent a house or apartment. Some don’t have cars and struggle to buy groceries in an area where rents are...

The state’s oldest marijuana collective survived federal raids and arrests. Can it survive divorce? In the midst of a veritable “marijuana gold rush,” the oldest marijuana collective in the U.S.—based in Santa Cruz—may be closing its doors and losing the 106-acre field that has saved terminally ill patients from immense pain and suffering. WAMM, short for...

I would definitely support closing off Pacific Mall to cars. I think that would be wonderful. Jim Grey, Santa Cruz, Builder               If they change it, it will probably be more confusing for the locals, and we like it the way it is. Patrick Castro, Scotts Valley, Hospitality    ...

Watsonville gets an upscale burger joint Burgers and draught beer: they practically sell themselves because they’re awesome. Up until recently, downtown Watsonville was in desperate need of an upscale burger joint. But in April, the need was answered when Main Street Burgers & Brews opened its doors, offering high-end ingredients in a casual sports-bar style atmosphere....

Hardy love quadrangle explored in ‘Far From Madding Crowd’ You might call Thomas Hardy’s 1874 literary classic “Far From the Madding Crowd” the grandfather (at least one of them) of the modern romance novel. (Along with just about anything written by the Brontë sisters.) Set in a wild, rural landscape—Dorset, in the West Country of England—Hardy’s...

Stripe Design Group’s Suna Lock and Dana Rader keep it timeless and classic The tireless entrepreneurs of Stripe—Suna Lock and Dana Rader—think of their work as “providing an inspirational playground” for their customers. Anyone who’s found themselves glued to the retail eye candy of both Stripe and its brother store, Stripe Men, will agree. “Walls and...

Theoretical physicist and author Leonard Mlodinow investigates why we investigate in ‘The Upright Thinkers’ If you’ve ever wondered what it’s like to live the science-nerd dream, just ask author and theoretical physicist Leonard Mlodinow. The coolness factor hovering over his long list of accomplishments is enough to give The Big Bang Theory’s Sheldon Cooper pause. Often...

Fascinated by seedy characters on society’s edge, Ray Bonneville has never played blues by the rules As a youngster, blues artist Ray Bonneville was out of sorts. Born in French-speaking Quebec, he moved with his family to Boston when he was 12 and found himself in a new town, with a new culture and an unfamiliar...

Santa Cruz’s pulse-raising gourmet chocolate house, plus Back Porch dinners and wine of the week Rarely does anything live up to its hype. Last week I found a rare exception: Mutari Chocolate House and Factory. This pulse-raising, three-month-old chocolate house specializes in a very narrow bandwidth of rich, velvety flavors. Like an Old World cafe in...

The annual salute to Santa Cruz’s entrepreneurial spirit expands, honoring locals with a range of goals and crusades When Matthew Swinnerton of Event Santa Cruz took over the Nexties last year, he had a plan: take the popular awards ceremony honoring locals who “create, build and inspire,” revamp it, and make it a show. He did...