Cocktail of the Week: the Carraway's Envy at Motiv. Light, filled with the perfume of summer, and a few exotic ingredients, this beautiful jade-green drink held my attention throughout an after-work catch-up with my colleague Hannah. My cocktail started with a foundation of Hendrick’s Gin—gin trumps vodka in my book— to which was added what tasted...

The strange career trajectory of Joan Osbourne  Joan Osbourne’s 1995 hit “One of Us” helped to define the wispy, female-flower-power sound of the Lillith Fair era. Unfortunately, some of her contemporaries let the era define them. Osbourne though, turned out to be full of surprises. First, there was her remarkably soulful work in the 2002 documentary...

But Seriously, Folk. Paul Rangell is Santa Cruz's master of old-time folk music Flinty and seductive, the sound of a mandolin always evokes the moodiness of another time, another century. In Santa Cruz, if you hear a mandolin, chances are you're listening to Paul Rangell. In a world where people text more than they create,...

Plus Letters To the Editor One of the most important missions for a true community paper, as I see it, is to reveal the uniqueness of the community it serves. For one thing, that means finding the people who are the “glue,” doing essential work on our cultural landscape, but who don’t necessarily get the recognition...

The New Group of World Servers is preparing for the Gemini Solar Festival occurring next Thursday, June 12, at the time of the full moon. This is the third of three spring festivals (Aries, Taurus, Gemini), and is accompanied by the cosmic forces of reconstruction.  The festival is also called the Festival of Humanity and World...

Doughnuts are an American staple. But San Francisco’s Bespoke Doughnuts is completely flipping the whole idea on its head with flavors like Roasted Pear and Walnut, Herb Pesto and Hummus and Honey Lemon Mint. The company was formed last year by Santa Cruz ex-pat Reilly Meehan and partner Brian Christie. They are joining forces this Friday...

New plan seeks to prepare historic landmark for the next 100 years  It extends 2,745 feet over the cyan waters of the Monterey Bay, and about 22 feet above them, atop a colonnade of more than 4,500 Douglas fir piles. The Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf has served the city for 100 years, and is an anomaly...

Five things we’ve learned from city budget meetings It’s budget season again, and things in Santa Cruz’s city government are looking up—thanks, partly, to a rebounding economy and the recently increased transient occupancy taxes. Santa Cruz also got its bond rating upgraded to AA+, putting the city’s credit on an equal footing with the nation’s. The...

Santa Cruz celebrates the Rio Theatre’s anniversary  The Rio Theatre is hosting a birthday bash, and guests are expected to party like it’s 1949. It’s the venerable local venue’s 65th, and her caretakers are inviting the community members that have supported her throughout the years to come and have some fun. “Our celebration is for the...

Homelessness and drug use. We need to take care of our population in town, and we need to help the people that need help. Damon ShanleSanta Cruz | Controller         Petty crime related to drug addiction and use. I think nothing comes close to that. Laura BatchaSanta Cruz | Executive Director    ...