In the world of innovative jazz guitar, Raul Midón reigns king

Raul Midón has collaborated with the likes of Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Jason Mraz, and India Arie, but the classically trained guitarist, percussionist and pianist is quickly becoming nothing short of legendary in his own right.

His funkified, percussive guitar technique, and soulful vocals sell out shows from Paris to Tokyo to his home base in New York City, and Midón doesn’t play favorites. “I’ve always loved playing; I’ll play wherever they’ll have me,” he says. “I think in almost any city if you have fans in the audience, then you have a good audience.”

Contra 2009

Aptos Burger Company is approaching it’s 11th birthday. It’s located in the Rancho Del Mar shopping center, which will undergo big changes after its recent purchase by Safeway.

Stripe Design Group rolls out Stripe Men. New men’s boutique embraces the masculine mystique

Consider this familiar scene: You’re shopping in a clothing boutique and you see a couple. Oftentimes, the woman is smiling, looking intently at the clothing, pulling hangers off the rack for closer inspection. “This is cute honey! What do you think?” she says to her companion. “Nice, babe,” the significant other might say, looking as though he would rather be getting a back wax than shop for even another minute. This all-too-familiar scene, though supremely common, may become a thing of the past in Santa Cruz.

Photography exhibition at local tattoo studio illustrates traditional world body art

A grayish tattoo streaks down the forehead of a middle-aged woman’s otherwise smooth almond-colored face. Her nostrils stretch wide over circular nose plugs inserted into her skin, and below her lips four more tattooed lines stretch down her chin. The woman peers out from a photograph within Chimera Tattoo Studio & Gallery in Westside Santa Cruz, but her body art is not the handiwork of a Chimera employee. The woman in the photo is a resident of the Apatani region in India, and her facial art is part of a tribal tradition.

Expansion of Watsonville sparks new and long-standing issues

Watsonville City Councilmember Daniel Dodge may have opened a can of worms with a recent editorial published in the Santa Cruz Sentinel on Jan. 29. 

His piece proposed that the City of Watsonville annex a property known as Sakata-Kett for large retail development and mentioned Costco as a possible tenant.  He says this would help create jobs outside of the agricultural industry for a city whose unemployment rate has hovered around 25 percent since 2008.

Nonprofit partners with U.S. Paralympics to provide disabled locals with more adventures

At 17 years old, Foster Andersen loved skiing, playing ice hockey, and listening to the Grateful Dead. He thrived outdoors and enjoyed trying new activities.

So, when he broke his neck in a motorcycle accident, his whole life changed.

How will the recent news about the halt of methyl iodide sales affect South Santa Cruz County?

I have personally spent much time reflecting on the future of pesticide use in the Pájaro Valley. As has been well documented of late, the years-long battle over the potentially dangerous use of methyl iodide has come to a close as Arysta LifeScience has decided to halt all sales of its patent product, methyl iodide, in California and the United States.