One reporter’s exploration of organic, and the USDA’s standards for enforcement
The sound of a cash register chings at the organic market. Vibrant produce passes over the scanner, and the total leaps five, eight, then 15 dollars higher.

A single adult living the organic lifestyle can spend $500 a month on food—at least if my grocery bill is any sign of the times. An heirloom tomato might be $.50 down the road at Safeway, but here it’s $1.60. Why is organic produce so expensive? Are organic junkies like me getting ripped off?

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently published the first in-depth report on organic farming, finding that the average organic farm spends $170,000 a year in production. Conventional farms only spend about $103,000.

Proposal for a new Boulder Creek recreation center causes a controversy
The current Boulder Creek Recreation Center sits in an unassuming location behind the Fire Department. A new proposal put forth by the Boulder Creek Recreation and Park District Board of Directors would move the center into a larger space that could serve thousands more people a month and provide more programs for area teens.

But a growing number of concerned residents are saying the plan is not as peachy as it sounds. These neighbors have formed the Boulder Creek-Brookdale Coalition of Concerned Citizens,  (BCBCCC), and are up in arms over the proposal for the new multi-million dollar recreation center that would be built in a residential area on the south side of town. The building would take up nearly three-quarters of a city block, leaving the two homes not included in the purchase with backyards bordering the parking lot.

Came to your party/ drank all your beer/ we’re a bad trip. —Camper Van Beethoven
By now, we are well familiar with the splendid machinations of the Tea Party. This well-publicized movement of fear and hatred that has co-opted their attention-grabbing demonstration theater straight out of a UC Santa Cruz protest manual, has managed to strike the fear of Darwin into every good-hearted believer of freedom and democracy.

Obama is finally striking back against these purveyors of insanity, and so should we. Which is why it’s time for a wholly different protest party. Tea and coffee are already spoken for. Herbal tea is nice, but maybe too nice. Wine would be good, but liberals have already been accused of elitism which is Republican speak for smart. Water, though entirely necessary to our survival, is simply no fun unless you’re naked and splashing in it. So we’re left with little choice but beer. Oh well …

What are your thoughts on President Barack Obama’s recent efforts to reduce global nuclear stockpiles?

This has been a very active spring in the realm of nuclear proliferation issues.

First, on April 6, the Obama Administration released its Nuclear Posture Review, and while I hoped to see far stronger language in the document, it does move U.S. nuclear policy in the right direction.

The 10^th annual Logjam! presented by the Big Stick Surfing Association took a stylish cross-step back in time last weekend, April 24-25, at the Dirt Farm and Pleasure Point on Santa Cruz’s Eastside. True to the  mantra of “old boards, no cords,” some 100 participants competed for two days on yellowed, 20-pound vintage longboards that were crafted prior to 1970.

The event was not so much a competition as a gathering of tribes, as surf clubs from up and down the coast met in appreciation of the roots, history and culture of California surfing. Mother Nature embraced the revival with summery offshore conditions that saw some intrepid surfers pull on their board shorts, while others kept their wetsuits zipped up snugly against spring-like water temperatures.

UCSC’s McHenry Library remains closed after fire
UC Santa Cruz’s McHenry Library may soon have a projected reopen date after a fire last Thursday night forced its closure. University Librarian Ginny Steel says that they should know by Friday, April 20, what that date will be.

McHenry Library, which originally opened in 1965 as one of the very first buildings on campus, houses UCSC’s arts, humanities, and social sciences collections. It has been undergoing renovation since 2005 to make it seismically sound and to accommodate growing collections and a growing student population. The fire, which officials believe was triggered by an overheated electrical cord being used to charge batteries for power tools, took place in the original building, under renovation and unoccupied at the time—which is pretty lucky, says Steel.

Vibrant Latino culture, family drama, explode in ‘La Mission’
It may be Benjamin Bratt’s name above the title, but the Latino community in San Francisco’s Mission District is the real star of La Mission. As viewed through the camera eye of writer-director Peter Bratt (the star’s older brother), the Mission is an E-Ticket ride of cultural vitality: vibrant, colorful murals sprawl across every wall, Aztec dance troupes and Mariachi bands are out performing on the street at all hours, and a sleek parade of extravagantly restored, airbrushed and detailed lowrider cars prowls the neighborhood seemingly every night, winding up with a fiesta of music and dancing. Every interior is painted in vivid, sun-drenched colors and decorated with altars and family photos.

Watch out for The Eclipse, an unusual and affecting hybrid of a movie from Irish filmmaker Conor McPherson. A finely limned character drama about a lonely widower and father slowly coming to terms with life, death, and grief, the tone is part magic realism, and part lyrical Irish folk ballad. It’s certainly not what you’d call a thriller in any conventional sense. And yet it contains two or three of the most frightening, jump-out-of-your-skin shock moments you’ll see in the movies all year. The story is set in the rugged, starkly beautiful coastal hamlet of Cobh, in County Cork, during an annual literary festival. The wonderful Ciaran Hinds play Michael Farr, a local woodshop teacher who has dabbled in story-writing and volunteers at the festival every year as a driver, ferrying visiting literati to and from events.

Obsessive Beauty visits New York
Calling all fashionistas—do you have some advice for us? Obsessive Beauty is going on vacation in late May to the place where fashion and beauty thrive—New York City. We’ll be spending a day together in Manhattan, and we’ll be blogging from afar, offering up the new things that we find to be obsessed about. And that’s where you, Obsessive Beauty readers, come in. Please comment below or e-mail us with tips on where you think we should shop and eat while in famous neighborhoods like SoHo, Greenwich Village, and the Meatpacking District.

So far, we’re eyeing a few incredible boutiques and house wares shops to check out, like Flying A, Bio-NYC, Kaight, Curve, Pinky Otto, Eryn Brinie, Muji, Kate’s Paperie, and of course, Anthropologie.Check in with us and tell us what you’re obsessed with in New York.
Leave a comment below, or e-mail us at cm*****@gt******.com or le*************@ya***.com.