Queen of comedy and New York Times bestseller Chelsea Handler gives birth to her third book
If the name Chelsea Handler hasn’t yet crossed your path, don’t worry, it will. This devilish darling is a busy girl these days what with her hit show Chelsea Lately on the cable television network E! Entertainment, her whirlwind nationwide comedy tour and promoting her recently released third bestselling book “Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang.”

Characterized by hilarious quips, modicums of irony and a heavy sprinkling of sarcasm, Handler’s latest literary foray verges on the impertinent. Zany tales bordering the far side of ludicrous abound as this rising star of comedy has shown she is so capable of creating. Filled with riotous tales of her perpetually unpredictable life—such as attempting to adopt a miniature horse, fooling her boyfriend into attending a funeral for a dog she claimed she had accidentally killed, her failed attempt to find her overweight driver a hook up in the Turks and Caicos, and, of course, myriad tales of torture and sibling rivalry that emerge from growing up within a large Jewish East Coast family—“Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang” may be Handler’s best book yet.

‘Cabaret,’ one of the hottest musicals of all time, hits Cabrillo Stage
Since American Musical Theatre of San Jose closed its doors in 2008, Cabrillo Stage has had some large shoes to fill. But with a brand new performance space at Crocker Theater and a young company of actors that is determined to bring Broadway to Santa Cruz, they are more than up to the task.

And so are the 25-year-old leads of this summer’s “Cabaret” at Cabrillo Stage. Aptos High School graduate Briana Michaud and Big Apple veteran Roddy Kennedy are prepared to wow even the least musically inclined theatergoer come July 23 when “Cabaret” opens.

Local library wants teens to get loud at its Battle of the Bands
Let’s face it, the last place you’d think to unleash a rock band is at a public library. Making noise at a building of books isn’t exactly known as kosher because we’ve all grown accustomed to that stereotypical image of the grumpy librarian—glasses low on the bridge of her nose, fingers up to her lips shush-ing away, white hair knotted in a bun, and seriously lacking any cool factor.

Think again, says Santa Cruz’s Matt Lorenzo, a former library’s assistant and coordinator of the 2010 Teen Battle of the Bands on Saturday, July 24 at 1 p.m. Organizing the teen music competition for a second year in a row, the 32-year-old (whose mom is a local librarian) is giving the library a facelift and turning it into a temporary rock venue at the behest of the Santa Cruz Public Library system itself. (Insert voice of Gary Coleman doing a ‘What’choo talkin’ ’bout Willis?’ doubletake here.)

A girls’ night in can do wonders. Just ask Honeymoon. For a band whose first jam session started out haphazardly as an excuse for a bunch of talented ladies to casually hang out and drink wine at home last November, the band has snowballed into an intoxicating musical force. A powerful brigade of four singer-songwriters coalescing into a fresh new project that wields a juggler’s dream of instrumental variation, a cappella magic, and endearing familial chemistry, the ensemble is on the rise. Lauren Shera, Andrea Blunt, Christina Bailey and Sara Bollwinkel have each made their mark solo or in other bands before stumbling upon Honeymoon—in which they’re now fueling each other’s fires as a standout Americana-folk act.

Shakespeare Santa Cruz delivers ‘Love’s Labor’s Lost’ Adler_Marion
People always say you should never mix business with pleasure. But Shakespeare Santa Cruz director Scott Wentworth and his leading lady onstage and in life, actress Marion Adler, could not disagree more.

After nearly 24 years of marriage, the Stratford, Ontario natives will head up the production of “Love’s Labor’s Lost,” opening July 24 at UC Santa Cruz’ Festival Glen. While theatergoers will recognize Wentworth for his role as Nick Bottom in last season’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” or Brutus in “Julius Caesar,” this year he will work solely behind the scenes as director, giving Adler her chance in the spotlight as the Princess of France.

Known as Shakespeare’s most modern comedy, the play centers on King Ferdinand of Navarre and his three noble lords who have sworn off women in favor of their studies. As you can imagine, that plan flies out the door as soon as the Princess of France arrives with her entourage of beautiful young women, and the drooling men fall head over heels in love.

In June, Good Times brought readers the full story behind the Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project and offered everyone the opportunity to help the CAP determine their next set of community goals. Our first-ever online CAP survey garnered 321 responses, with the following goals receiving the most votes: The Santa Cruz County economy will create more living-wage jobs and keep more residents in local jobs; all children will have healthcare coverage; all high school graduates will be prepared to enter living-wage careers or higher education; more youth will be involved in prevention and positive social activities and fewer youth will enter the juvenile delinquency system; health of rivers and ocean is improved by reducing erosion, chemical and biological pollution, and improving riparian corridors; more Santa Cruz County residents will have access to housing, both rental and home ownership, that they can afford. Thanks to everyone who participated.

New rebate programs provide incentives for home energy efficiency
When talking about sectors of the economy hit hard during the recession, it’s hard to compete with construction. According to the latest job report put out by the U.S. Labor Department, construction unemployment remains around 20.1 percent, or 1.8 million people still looking for work. No matter how you spin it, that’s a lot of people.

Last week, the Green Careers Partnership held a workshop at Cabrillo College aimed at helping Santa Cruz contractors move out of that figure and into the emerging economy of energy efficiency retrofitting for homes. Around 60 contractors sat in attendance at the event, which featured presentations highlighting new rebate programs for green home retrofitting, useful credentials and software for the green home sector, and attempts to create a network of green-minded builders.

Santa Cruz nonprofit provides micro-grants for community projects
Thousand dollars and a smart idea go farther than you may think. For the last 22 years, Bread for the Journey (BFJ), a national nonprofit organization, has been operating on this principle.

BFJ has 20 chapters scattered across the country, including one in Santa Cruz, all with a simple mission: to collect funds and redirect them in the form of micro-grants of less than $3,000 to catalyze local community projects. The organization is run entirely by volunteers, often from their own homes.

“When I think of Bread for the Journey, I think of someone saying, ‘Here’s a little bread for your journey. Here’s a little bit to get you going—to get you to your next stop,’” says Jerilyn Kass, one of the four founding board members of the Santa Cruz chapter. “We give seed money for people who have these great ideas but [have] no money, and it gives them that initial push to get them to their next stop.”

The decision of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to support the registration of the pesticide methyl iodide is irresponsible because its proposed mitigations will not avert potentially devastating health and environmental impacts.

The proposed registration is misplaced in light of compelling evidence presented by the external scientific peer review committee commissioned by DPR. Once methyl iodide is approved, there will be no turning back from its dangerous and potentially lethal effects.  Workers and families in rural regions deserve protection from this highly volatile and toxic pesticide. The only means to protect public health and the environment is to prohibit the use of methyl iodide in California.

Karma (this blog’s namesake), is starting to lose it with this moving thing.  She’s howling and meowing to get out … to see this wild-like animal go through these stages of struggle has been an alerting glimpse into behavior.

It began with the collar.  After living in the country for ten years, she roamed, howled, and hunted with a familiar freedom and nothing around her neck.  In town now, she need protection from the racing traffic, and I must protect her very life. When her collar was fastened, her gait changed to a low slink, like a weight upon her back.  Adjustment is coming, I know, but I can only imagine what it must be like to feel shackled, trapped.  What happens to people when they lose their freedom to roam, to travel, and to do what we want to do?  It must change the psyche and strip one of a certain creativity.  As an innately creative person, when a “block” exists, I can feel the collar and the helplessness creep in.  My mind goes in circles and the creativity cannot unfold.  It becomes stale and boring.  This collar as metaphor is coming off, I can feel it.  The block is lifting and the adjustment is turning to a blast of original ideas.  I’m ready to soar.  I hope Karma will soon feel the same way.