Dolly Creamer made a stop at the Crepe Place on July 17 as part of its Rough Girls tour, marking the Los Angeles band’s first time playing in Santa Cruz. “Grungtry” is how Sarah Rebecca Harris, lead singer and founder of Dolly Creamer, describes their sound: a fusion of experimental folk and Americana mixed with punk and rock & roll.
Harris, who grew up in Pennsylvania, played piano as a child but didn’t start singing or learning guitar until about six years ago. While she had always held an infatuation for music, she never envisioned herself becoming a musician. Harris moved to LA in 2012 to pursue costume design. She then enrolled in a San Francisco clown school and began MCing events, backup dancing, and participating in improv shows.
Throughout this time, Harris had been writing little pieces in her notes. They were never songs but fragments of words and ideas that played nicely together. Harris moved to Joshua Tree, and it was there she realized music was calling.
She was writing and performing skits and slowly incorporating musical melodies and bits of singing. Harris recalls performing a skit that didn’t land with the audience and suddenly “waking up” and realizing, “I need to make music.” She looked back at those fragments in her notes and tried to form songs.
In the beginning, Harris was “mystified” by songwriting; she struggled but kept tinkering. A guitarist friend of hers put those first songs to music and an album was released in 2020 under her stage name, Lucky Baby Daddy. Harris then “cracked the code” to song writing. “Once you start writing songs, it’s like a curse—you can’t stop thinking of it,” Harris says. Dolly Creamer was born years later and released a single titled “She’s a 10” in 2024.
Harris says she is “a music fan before anything.” She describes music as an alternate way of communicating: “a different language and unexplainable.” She has always been a “lyrical person” who craves the emotions that song writing evokes. Those first few years of playing music for crowds were surreal for Harris. “Playing with a band is a transcendent experience,” she says.
Harris also emphasized that being a musician is the hardest thing she has ever done. When pursuing music professionally was just a dream, Harris thought of the lifestyle as one of world travel while creating and playing music. Now, as the dream has begun to materialize, the work is undeniable.
A musician has to be “good at so many things,” Harris explains: communicating, marketing, planning, juggling ideas, scheduling, budgeting—and then producing a product that people will support.
Harris is not a full-time musician, although she would like to be. She also makes clothes, works at a brewery, and schedules shows for other bands. Although her newfound lifestyle is “more work than I could have ever imagined,” Harris emphasizes the music is “worth it.”
Dolly Creamer’s most recent single, “Rose Neck Tat,” came out May 13. While its release is recent, the song was the first one Harris wrote for Dolly Creamer. They have been performing “Rose Neck Tat” for years but only recently produced a recording that felt just, according to Harris. A “grungtry” twang twists throughout the piece. Her voice is strong and soft and filled with the emotion that Harris chases in the music she consumes.
Dolly Creamer will release an EP titled Green Gardens for Really Rough Girlfriends on June 20.
Guitarist Jerad Fox, 43, could not have been more surprised to get the call that day.
It was from Matthew Swinnerton, owner of Event Santa Cruz, letting Fox know he’d been hand-picked by Jane Wiedlin for a “super group” that will perform with the Go-Go’s guitarist at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History July 17 as part of a new event series called “Legends Live & Local.”
“I wasn’t aware it was even happening. And I didn’t know I was in the running,” says Fox, who is also a guitar teacher. “It was a big surprise.”
That same happy surprise reverberated throughout Santa Cruz County as five more musicians also learned they’d been selected.
Two of the musicians are just teenagers: Marek Fulo-Furlano, 18, on guitar and Dylan Von Elgg, 15, who plays drums. They both attend Be Natural Music School and were nominated by owner and music director Matthew Pinck. “I’m so proud of these kids,” Pinck says. “They work their tails off. And this super group is such a great opportunity to build a generational bridge…across all ages…with music.”
Fulo-Furlano was blown away when he got the text letting him know he was in the group. He started playing the guitar at 8 years old, but “got serious” at 10 and has been playing ever since. “It’s very fun—never a chore to practice,” he says. “I always do it.” During Covid, he says, he played “all day.”
Von Elgg—who has already performed live with Fulo-Furlano and others at Abbott Square, Felton Music Hall, Woodstock’s Pizza and Woodhouse Blending & Brewing—says it “feels awesome” to perform. “It’s an adrenaline rush.” He adds that “you have to work really hard.” Asked if he envisions a future playing large shows and stadiums, he doesn’t miss a beat. “I would love to rock out!” he offers enthusiastically.
MEETING A LEGEND Guitarist Marek Fulo-Furlano and drummer Dylan Von Elgg, both students at Be Natural Music School, will play with Jane Wiedlin. PHOTO: Contributed
The Legends Live & Local event series is the brainchild of Swinnerton and Live Oak native Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, Ph.D, a rock ’n’ roll cultural historian and author. “We wanted to create a series of events that can help make Santa Cruz a hub for media and creativity on the Central Coast,” Otter Bickerdike says. “It’s about creating an ecosystem of talent, from musicians to sound engineers, videographers, and content creators. If you need it, we want to have it here in Santa Cruz.”
Gabi Bravo, 34, from Watsonville, who will be on vocals, expressed her deep gratitude for being included. Earning the title of Musician of the Year at the NEXTies earlier this year, Bravo is considered a “rising star with a cinematic, soul-stirring sound that fuses Latin influence and indie pop.” Bravo says, “I’m proud to represent women in music because it can be hard out there for us. Especially as a solo artist. There are extra barriers. I am so down…so stoked to be highlighted and to have this opportunity.”
Rounding out the super group are Swan Porter, 28, on keyboards and David De Silva, 42, who plays bass.
Porter, an independent singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Santa Cruz native, says, “Music is my religion, my therapy and my meditation. Being invited by Jane is a huge honor. I respect her fierce dedication to music and her fearless ability to uphold her values in the music industry.”
De Silva adds: “I think it’s great that this event celebrates new generations of musicians.” A veteran on the Santa Cruz music circuit, De Silva is fresh off of playing at the Crow’s Nest Thursday Beach BBQ partyJuly 3 with the Ripatti Rose Band. For more than 20 years, De Silva has done whatever it takes to make a living as a working musician. “I played with a traditional Bolivian band for a year. I’ve played Bollywood, cumbia, merengue. I would not understand life without playing music. It just would make no sense to me.”
The day before the big show at the MAH, the musicians will meet up to practice three songs chosen by Wiedlin in an intimate rehearsal session, offering an opportunity for each performer to receive one-on-one mentoring and meaningful collaboration with a rock ’n’ roll legend.
“Event Santa Cruz is proud to launch Legends Live & Local as a groundbreaking new series that brings legendary creatives to town to inspire, collaborate and uplift our vibrant local community,” says Swinnerton.
The evening will begin with an on-stage conversation with Wiedlin; the group will then perform three songs. The event concludes with “New Wave Rave,” a 90-minute DJ set featuring dance classics from the 1980s.
An Evening with Jane Wiedlin takes place July 17, 6:30–10pm, at the MAH, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. $38.09. EventSantaCruz.com.
A group of state lawmakers and local medical providers gathered July 8 at the Santa Cruz Community Health Center in Live Oak to sound the alarm on President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA).
Despite its name, the bill will remove millions of people across the U.S. from their health insurance plans and pauperize plans for millions more.
That was the message from Congressman Jimmy Panetta and a cadre of medical professionals, who stressed that the bill will not deter them from their primary mission.
“We’re not going anywhere,” said Donaldo Hernandez, a doctor who serves as vice-chair to the California delegation of the American Medical Association. “We’re going to be right here making sure that we keep doing the thing we have sworn to do, the thing we love, and that’s taking care of people in our communities.”
According to Panetta, OBBBA is a “a self-inflicted wound that will hurt working families throughout this country, that will decrease health coverage in the 19th Congressional District and could lead to closures of rural hospitals in our communities.”
The bill, he said, will provide $4 trillion in tax breaks for billionaires and corporations, which will be paid for by adding $3.8 trillion to the national debt, and $3.4 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years, and slashing $1 trillion in Medicaid services, leading to 17 million people losing health care.
In addition, the bill cuts $191 billion in federal contributions to state Medicaid programs, with zero expansions in coverage, and imposes state-directed cuts of $149 billion in reimbursements to Medicare rates.
OBBBA also adds co-payments for certain economic levels for people on Medicare, denies transgender youth care, and prevents care for legal immigrants except those with green cards.
Moreover, the legislation implements work requirements that will kick 12 million people off Medicaid, and requires able-bodied adults 18-64 to show proof of 80 hours per month of work, school or volunteer time.
But while such a proposition might seem simple, it doesn’t mention that two-thirds of the people receiving benefits are in nursing homes and unable to work, Panetta said.
“There is a reason why there are no work requirements at the federal level,” he said. “Because it prevents people from getting Medicaid.”
Some 37,000 people in Santa Cruz County could lose Medicaid or coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
That could be devastating in Santa Cruz County, where roughly 71,000 people are enrolled in Medi-Cal and 93% have health insurance, said Health Officer Lisa Hernandez.
Local clinics, she added, serve 14,000 patients through 100,000 appointments annually.
Community Bridges CEO Ray Cancino said he is “utterly devastated” by passage of the bill, and the fact that “not even four Republicans in the House had the courage to stand up and stop the ‘Big Disastrous Bill’ from passing.”
The reality, he said, is that an estimated 17 million Americans will lose their healthcare coverage, and that devastating cuts—totaling nearly $300 billion over the next decade—will gut SNAP, the nation’s most vital food assistance program.
Worse, Cancino said, is that lawmakers knew the harm this bill would cause.
The cuts will mean that many people will face longer wait times and fewer providers, and millions of people will go without regular care, flooding emergency rooms with preventable crises.
In addition, healthcare costs will rise for everyone, Cancino said.
‘We should all be clear-eyed about what this moment represents,” he said. “It is the cost of apathy. It is a painful reminder that when we fail to vote with our values—not just in California, but across the country—we leave our most vulnerable neighbors exposed to decisions made without compassion or foresight.”
Emile Suotonye DeWeaver became an activist and journalist while incarcerated for 21 years and cofounded the organization Prison Renaissance. Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy and an Abolitionist Future is DeWeaver’s new book, which envisions a culture without white supremacy, where police and prisons are replaced with healing systems that create safety and accountability. He will be reading from his book on July 18 at the UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences.
WHITE IS A METAPHOR FOR POWER
John Malkin: You write, “Police work for the white supremacist status quo that was established at the founding of this country.”
Emile DeWeaver: When I’m talking about white supremacy I like to start with the quote by James Baldwin. He says that white is not a skin color; it’s a metaphor for power. A failure to understand that is really connected to the shame spirals we find ourselves in around white supremacy, particularly amongst white people. And also the blind spots, particularly amongst non-white people, about the ways we participate in white supremacy as a survival strategy.
I think about white supremacy in three terms. We’re familiar with the impacts of white supremacy on an individualism level, like “I’m discriminated against” or “I’m pulled over by the police.” And we’re familiar with the structural components of white supremacy like court systems, laws and redlining.
These are important, but what goes missing is the culture and ideology of white supremacy, which are really the things we need to focus in on because the structures of white supremacy just enforce the culture. If you dismantle the structures, the culture would just breed new mechanisms to enforce itself. Ultimately we need to kill the culture, but we must understand that culture is just normalized ideology.
If we want to really start dealing with the root causes of white supremacy we need to understand that we have all been taught to be white supremacist. There’s so many ideas on this from The New Jim Crow all the way to Afro-pessimism that give us the structural manifestations of white supremacy. Often in the culture of white supremacy the thing that signals you’re safe is that you’ve adopted the culture. You’ve joined the ranks of structural Stockholm Syndrome; you’ve taken on the values and mores of your oppressor.
WRITE MY WAY OUT
You write, “By the age of 18, I was serving 69 years to life for murder. By 19, I experienced an awakening and resolved to write my way out of prison.” Tell me about your awakening and your resolve to write your way out of prison.
I always like to say, “You do realize I was a child when I went to prison? So, primarily I grew up.” Probably the biggest factor was that at 19 I was forced to grow up because I had a child. My daughter was born and I met them behind a glass wall. I started thinking about what my daughter was going to see as they grew up, which forced me to look at myself. What they were going to see was a junior high school dropout and someone who, in our society, is a murderer, a throwaway and something to be ashamed of. From my pretty rough relationship with my father, I knew there was no way for my kid to grow up feeling ashamed of me without also being ashamed of themselves. And that cracked me in half.
The little seed of hope was, “Starting right now, you are going to become someone that your kid can be proud of.” I resolved to write my way out of prison. But plan B was, “If I never get out of prison, I can still live a life that shows my kid that no matter how far you fall down, you can always turn around and build something beautiful in your life. That was my wake-up moment. I didn’t have the training to be a writer, so I spent the next 12 years training myself through reading, practice and handwritten rejection letters from editors, honing my craft until I got to a place where I could make a living writing.
QUIET PACIFISM
You write that while incarcerated, you practiced “quiet pacifism” and “meditated like a Zen monk.”
It’s accurate to say that meditation, if it didn’t save my life, it saved my sanity. I came to meditation through practicing Tai Chi in prison. I was also reading the journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson. He had this one line—“Write your own Bible”—and it blew my mind. I was like, “What? You can do that?” So, I began to write my own Bible and 12 years later I came across Buddhism and I realized, “This is what I thought I created!” I got really deep into Buddhist compassion practices, the four noble truths, eightfold path and with that came a commitment not to harm people. There’s a lot of strategy that goes into living in very violent prisons where violence is the currency that earns respect. So I say “quiet pacifist” because it’s not like I was on the yard saying, “Hey everyone, I’m a pacifist!” But I was always strategizing so as to resolve all problems without violence.
I was interested to read in your book, “My dream for abolitionists who will not engage reforms is that they soften the hard lines of this stance.” You also write, “For abolition to work, it must be led not by incarcerated people’s families, not by formerly incarcerated people, but by incarcerated people.”
There is the general concept that impacted people should lead the work. One of the reasons I founded Prison Renaissance is because there was this accepted norm that incarcerated people can’t create organizations because they’re in prison. I saw that as an imagination problem. I founded Prison Renaissance to break that imagination lock.
It was founded and run by incarcerated people, even in a situation where incarcerated people are not allowed to run nonprofits. That was a very dicey time! But, we did it! We’d be in college classrooms, lecturing over the phone. We did a live art event with Southern Exposure in San Francisco called Metropolis with recordings of incarcerated people telling stories about their experiences. I called in and facilitated a town hall-style meeting around emergent strategy and abolition. People’s minds were blown.
There’s no reason why more effort isn’t put into building incarcerated leadership. Think about the Civil Rights movement and imagine the entire country marching across the bridge at Selma but all the Black people stayed home. Could we have had a civil rights movement? Of course not. So, why do we think it’s different for abolition?
Tell me more about prison reforms you see as necessary.
What do reforms look like that give incarcerated people more protection and power? The golden standard for me is prison slave labor. Step one is a reform campaign that’s banning slave labor. Step two, getting it enforced. Step three, while you’re getting it enforced we’re building the right for incarcerated people to own their labor. Incarcerated people work for companies for more money than they would make in prison, but it’s a quarter of what they would make if they were out of prison. But that makes up such a small minority of prison labor. Ninety-plus percent of prison labor is slave labor running the prison: electricians, janitors, cooks, servers, secretaries. Prisons today are simply not sustainable without slave labor. And that’s the importance of ending slave labor! The gears would grind themselves out. So, I wish there was a softer line on reforms and a more strategic approach.
When you describe the right for incarcerated people to own their work, it reminds me of exploitation that occurs outside of prison.
What defines slavery is choice. Where we live in capitalism, you cannot choose not to work. Prison is just the clearest manifestation of our society. This same shit playing out in prison is playing out with you at home watching TV, going to work. I ask people, “Tell me you don’t feel disposable in your country as a white person who doesn’t want to make any waves because you know how quickly you will be disposed of by the very system you are riding on right now!” You can think of prison as a machine, a mechanism of disposability, and if you trace that to its root you will find white supremacy.
HEALING CITIES
A central question in your book is; what does a world look like where we don’t put people in prison for breaking laws, even when someone commits a violent act? Tell me about your concept of healing cities and harm recovery programs where “men weep when they hurt” and learn to use power in healthy ways.
The idea for the healing cities comes from thinking about how much money we spend on prisons and police. I did the math and we can solve three of our major social problems by not spending it on police and prisons. There could be no homelessness and everyone could have an education with no debt. I’m a hippie! I was raised in California and I go to festivals where we’re basically creating entire cities over a weekend and then dismantling them at the end of the week. We are our own government. Harm happens in these places and we have processes for holding people accountable and restoring safety.
So, these structures that abolitionists are trying to promote, they already exist. They just don’t exist for Black people! In my hippie world, it’s a lot of white people. Healing cities is an act of visionary fiction. Let it be a starting point for a conversation as we all collectively figure this out.
DEFUND THE POLICE
We just marked the fifth anniversary since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police on May 25, 2020. Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police were huge movements worldwide. When I ask people, “What happened to Defund?” many say, “It collapsed because the word defund was just too much for people.” What do you think happened to Defund?
It was not the word chosen for the project! (Laughs.) What happened to Defund the Police is that people don’t understand how they’re impacted by propaganda in the 21st century. It approaches mind control. The science of it is so tight but there’s not enough humility in our movements to understand and engage that. Now we’ve missed the bus. This guy got elected and a lot of people are screaming, “I want to get involved.” And it’s like, “I’m sorry to break it to you but the time to get involved was before he got elected.”
This is an “I told you so” moment but it’s also a “frameworks and principles” moment. Principle one: we got outmaneuvered. Principle two: if you’ve been out-maneuvered that means you’re two steps behind. Principle three: the worst thing you can do if you are two steps behind is rush forward; they’ve already prepared their response to what we’re going to do. Principle four: it is vital for us to stop and pause. Inaction is also a strategy. Bayo Akomolafe says, “Times are urgent, let us slow down.”
For me, clarity is hope. Clarity is the only foundation on which you can build power that belongs to you. Power is the only thing that can change this world. So, I invite people to engage these difficult topics with the mindset that the clearer you get, the more powerful you become. And the more powerful you become, the more hope we have.
Emile Suotonye DeWeaver speaks at 6pm on July 18 at the UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz.ias.ucsc.edu
Listen to this interview with Emile DeWeaver on Thursday at noon on “Transformation Highway” with John Malkin on KZSC 88.1 FM / kzsc.org.
Update from Pulse Productions: Tony Levin has rescheduled the July 19 show to Dec. 9, 2025. All tickets purchased for July 19 will be honored at the new date. Same time, same venue.
When King Crimson took the Santa Cruz Civic stage in 1984, it was Tony Levin who rocked and rumbled the crowd with the low thunder of a Chapman Stick.
If you’ve never been introduced to the Stick, prepare to be blown away by the sight and sound of this revolutionary stringed beast of an instrument as the UCSC Music Center will host an exceptionally rare event.
Stick Men, featuring King Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto, touch-guitar master Markus Reuter, and special guest Reeves Gabrels—acclaimed guitarist with The Cure and David Bowie—will perform music from the new album, Brutal, and from the Crimson catalog. Everyone will get a chance to meet the group in the lobby after the concert.
Due to an ongoing medical issue, Tony Levin is taking a health-related break from the current tour but the legendary bass guitarist sat for an interview with Good Times to share memories of a career that has stretched from Peter Gabriel’s theatrical visions to King Crimson’s thundering precision and gigs along the way with Lou Reed, Paul Simon, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Alice Cooper, James Taylor and many more luminaries.
It’s been a journey that has often led to Santa Cruz: the Civic with King Crimson, at Palookaville with the California Guitar Trio, and past shows at Moe’s Alley with Stick Men.
It all began in a New York orchestra. A classically trained musician from an early age, Levin played double bass in the Rochester Philharmonic, seemingly to be a lifelong career. But his love of jazz led him to accept an invitation from the legendary drummer Buddy Rich to play jazz on the road.
When Rich changed his mind about having a new bass player, Levin found himself without a gig, and fatefully went to New York to find work.
“Had it not been for the kerfuffle with Buddy Rich, I might never have left Rochester,” Levin says. “So I accidentally became a studio musician early in my 20s.”
His classical training gave him technical skills that many rock musicians lacked, and his experience with jazz instilled a groove that separates great session work from merely competent playing.
A second life-changing moment came when Levin was called in to play on former Genesis frontman Peter Gabriel’s first solo album. Gabriel found a bass player who met his artistic ambitions with technical precision, while Levin gained a creative partner who would challenge him for decades to come.
Significantly, those Gabriel sessions introduced Levin to Robert Fripp, the King Crimson guitarist whose complex compositions and innovative approach to rock music would provide the perfect showcase for Levin’s evolving musical voice.
Stick Men draws inspiration from Crimson’s complex rhythmic structures and echoes the band’s tradition of innovative instrumentation and complex, cerebral compositions that challenge traditional rock convention, falling somewhere between Art Rock, Progressive Rock, and Progressive Metal.
The early days produced some legendary moments. Levin recalls with particular fondness a performance at the tiny Roxy Theater in Hollywood, where Gabriel performed with the enigmatic Fripp “trying to hide off the side of the stage.” Levin watched as Gabriel stepped off the stage, mid-song, to stroll across the audience’s cocktail tables.
“Young Peter,” Levin smiles, “always adventurous, and still surprising us with what he does on stage.”
When Levin officially joined King Crimson in 1981, he faced a crucial decision that would define his sound for the next four decades. Meeting the band’s uniquely gifted players—Bill Bruford, Adrian Belew and Fripp—Levin recognized that his traditional bass playing wouldn’t match their innovative approaches.
He immediately reached for his Chapman Stick, with odd tuning and touch-style playing that seemed suited to the band’s unconventional musical language, and the Stick became Levin’s signature instrument.
“It’s touch style instrument—a little bit more like a piano than like a guitar,” Levin explains. “So by touching the strings—with both hands—you’re playing the notes.
“Watching someone play seems pretty outlandish and weird,” Levin admits. “Frankly, if I see a video of myself, I’m like, what am I doing? But actually, when you’re playing it, it’s pretty simple.”
Today, Levin continues to tour with multiple projects, while developing new material with Stick Men. The power trio recently completed work on Brutal, a name that reflects Levin’s desire to explore the band’s harder-edged musical territory.
The title came about through the kind of playful collaboration that defines the band’s creative process: Levin wrote some aggressive riffs, then imagined drummer Pat Mastelotto sampling the word “brutal” spoken by bandmate Marcus Reuter with his German accent, creating an improvisational tool that could appear in any performance.
Asked if he has advice for young artists seeking a career in music, he defers to their knowledge of the world they are growing into.
“They know they don’t need me to tell them the challenges,” he says. “You have some good breaks, and you have some very bad breaks.”
One of those bad breaks for Levin came after hooking up with Pink Floyd to play on their Momentary Lapse of Reason album. David Gilmour invited Levin to join the band, but scheduling conflicts with a Peter Gabriel tour forced him to decline.
Levin seems to view such choices as simply part of the freelance musician’s life. A similar conflict once prevented him from joining John McLaughlin’s jazz fusion group, the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
“In the end,” he says, “if you’re lucky enough to have your life’s work be making music, that’s a win. That’s a great, great blessing.”
The Saturday concert is also an opportunity to experience the UCSC Recital Hall, which rarely presents outside artists. The acoustics are designed for voice, piano and violin recitals with no amplification, and over the years the hall has been customized for recitals of computer music and electronics.
One of Santa Cruz’s best-kept secrets, it features a surround-sound system, LED fixtures that can light an elegant piano recital one day and a rock show the next, and a beautiful setting with views of rolling fields and the Monterey Bay.
Stick Men at the UCSC Music Center Recital Hall, 402 McHenry Rd, Santa Cruz.
Update from Pulse Productions: Tony Levin has rescheduled the July 19 show to Dec. 9, 2025. All tickets purchased for July 19 will be honored at the new date. Same time, same venue. Tickets atpulseproductions.net
Published in cooperation between casino.org and Good Times Santa Cruz
Online gambling is currently illegal in California as of April 2025, and the wide-ranging state ban includes all online sportsbooks and casino sites. However, the broader national picture for iGaming in the United States has witnessed significant landmark changes in recent years, causing many industry experts to speculate about when certain states might move to introduce more permissive online gambling legislation. Despite some failed efforts to legalize gambling activities in California, the state still appears a long way away from making any notable changes to its heavily restrictive legal framework. In this article, we’ve examined if and when we might expect online gambling to be legalized in the Golden State.
The Role of the California Electorate
In November 2022, two key ballots indicated the largely anti-gambling stance of much of the California electorate, as the majority of voters rejected two major propositions aimed at legalizing sports betting activities. Following on from the landmark Supreme Court decision to remove the federal sports betting ban in 2018, legislators and industry leaders in many U.S.states began to explore the new possibilities for opening up their own legal and regulated markets. In California, Proposition 26 aimed to legalize in-person sports betting at tribal casinos and racing tracks, while Proposition 27 was backed by major online gaming companies aiming to legalize online sports betting sites in the state. Both initiatives were overwhelmingly rejected by the electorate, with Prop. 27 receiving a particularly large opposition from 82.28 percent of voters, making it one of the largest margins of defeat for any proposition in history.
This fascinating moment in Californian voting history revealed many interesting elements of public opinion in the state. Many voters indicated concerns about youth exposure to online gambling, suggesting that tighter and clearer regulatory frameworks may need to be put forward in order to gain the support and trust of the electorate. Alongside this, many voters in California are supportive of Native American tribal interests in the state, meaning that they followed the lead of the tribes who voted against Prop. 27. Instead of welcoming major companies with open arms, some Californians may have felt that local interests would not be prioritized by these larger iGaming businesses. Clearly, there are many reservations among voters here about the expansion of online gambling activities, which will undoubtedly take some time to evolve. The result of both ballots also highlighted the significant influence of tribal gaming throughout the state, as its leadership will clearly be instrumental in any future decision-making about online gambling law.
The Future of Gambling Legislation in California
The current landscape in California remains the same, with a highly restrictive approach to all forms of gambling. However, despite the significant blow to progress in 2022, there have since been renewed discussions between tribal leaders and major gaming companies about a changing future for legalization in the state. Since tribal casinos in the area are exempt from prohibitive law, they currently dominate California’s brick-and-mortar gambling industry, typically generating over $8 billion USD in annual gaming revenue. During the events of 2022, it undoubtedly became clear that the tribes must also lead the way forward for online gambling. To acknowledge this, in a recent appearance at the annual Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and FanDuel President Christian Genetski recognized the importance of tribal partnerships and outlined their hopes for a more constructive, collaborative future.
Evidently, any possible future changes to gambling legislation in the Golden State will need to be agreed upon in collaboration between legislators, iGaming operators and the 109 recognized tribes in the state today. This poses a significant challenge for those seeking to open up a more permissive legal framework in the state and certainly means that many years of debate and conversation will need to take place before we are to see any significant movements. The introduction of new laws in California regarding sports betting and online casino gaming will therefore take at least a few years to materialize, with some experts stating that 2028 is the most likely current target for any significant changes to take place. Ultimately, learning from the failures of previous propositions will be the most vital task for those pushing for change.
While the current situation in California is clearly complicated, there are, of course, many groups within the state who do support the opening of a legal and regulated online gambling market. With many American iGaming fans now regularly checking casino promo codes and enjoying online casino games in states like New Jersey and Michigan, many California gamers will undoubtedly be keen to follow suit as soon as possible. And having witnessed the massive revenue generated by these new domestic online casino markets, many leading government officials and gaming industry experts are keen to bring about the enormous economic uplift that legalization can generate. Total iGaming revenue in New Jersey hit a record $243.9 billion USD in March 2025, demonstrating that the Golden State’s economy could clearly receive a similarly significant boost if it loosens its legislation.
Ultimately, due to the state’s complex political landscape, any notable changes to online gambling legislation in California will undoubtedly be at least a few more years away. Changemakers must navigate the powerful influence of tribes in the area, as well as the cautious outlook of the electorate, which indicates that wide-ranging conversations between all stakeholders will need to take place before we see any meaningful action. Despite this, some industry experts are cautiously optimistic about the likelihood of a more permissive future for iGaming in California. As the national legislative landscape continues to change at a dramatic pace, the United States is certainly becoming more open to online casino and sports betting activity, with the generation of significant tax revenue offering a clear incentive for many state governments. With American citizens demonstrating increasing demand for casual gaming and wagering opportunities, it is certainly possible that California could legalize online gambling within the next decade. Whatever happens, it will be fascinating to watch the negotiations unfold.
Where would you bring a first-time visitor to Santa Cruz?
ARIANA, left, and MICA
Hanuman Temple at Mount Madonna Center. The community there is so welcoming, and the temple is like stepping into another country.
Ariana Sandoval, 24, Chemical Engineer Mika Saad, 22, Writer
LUKE
Pacific Avenue, for a Sunday afternoon stroll — with a stop at Chocolate Café for a Passionfruit Margarita and their Cheese Bowl with focaccia.
Luke Shepherd, 35, UCSC Music Teacher
ROXANNE
Up in the redwoods of Aptos. I like to camp and being in the woods, and I especially love The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park.
Roxanne Thomas, 19, Forestry Major at Columbia College
DAVID
We would take a walk along West Cliff and watch the surfing at Steamer Lane and then play at Lighthouse Park.
David Pattee, 69, Pastor at Peace United Church of Christ
KERRY
Natural Bridges. It’s got a bit of everything. You have a little hiking and the beach and the beautiful rocks. And you have butterflies at the right time of year.
Kerry Krouse, 53, Writer / Teacher
JAMES
The Crow’s Nest! People ask me where they can go to eat that’s not so touristy and not too expensive. The Crow’s Nest food is excellent, and the hospitality and service is good.
There are other cities in California that claim to be the U.S. surf capital, but our cover story makes a convincing case that Santa Cruz is where the sport started on the mainland. Yes, Hawaii was really first, but at that time, 1885, Hawaii was its own country.
When three of its princes climbed on boards made of redwood and hit the waves off the San Lorenzo River, the local sport was born.
It’s amazing to think back to that time in light of how popular the sport became. Imagine seeing the first people standing on water and riding the waves. Our cover story by Geoffrey Dunn and Kim Stoner takes you back through time and gives you some context both for surfing and the people who brought it here. This is some fun history and will delight even those who aren’t history buffs.
You can also relive it at the Museum of Art & History downtown, a place that has become our city center and deserves all the support we can give it. It has become a true cultural, musical and artistic heart of Santa Cruz.
Speaking of which, two local promoters are having their first new event at the Museum this week, called “Legends Live & Local.” It’s already sold out but supporting activities like it will help bring in more. This one features Go-Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin, who will talk about her time with the hot ’80s girl group, which recently appeared at Coachella.
Here’s the wild part: Jane will be backed up by a super group of local musicians who are in their teens and up. It’s a chance to see our locals backing an international star, and promoters Matthew Swinnerton and Jennifer Otter Bickerdike want to bring in more celebrities for events.
This is the kind of thinking we need in this town…people with big visions combining national and local talent. It gives us all a reason to get out and see things even better than anything over the hill.
Speaking of which, I see internationally known country star Lacy J. Dalton, who got her start in Santa Cruz, is coming back on Aug. 16, playing the intimate El Vaquero Winery. That’s huge!
On other fronts, Watsonville started its Second Saturday festival, like Santa Cruz’s First Friday, and the response was great. That’s what I’m talking about.
And the MAH had a dog fashion show Sunday, as you can see in the photo on this page. It sounded too crazy for me not to check it out, and I loved it. We’ve got so many innovative thinkers here who know how to put on a Good Time (pun intended).
Thanks for reading.
BradKava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
DOGGY STYLE So much cuteness at the Museum of Art & History Sunday for the Santa Cruz SPCA’s Dog Fashion Show. Photograph by Joan Hammel
GOOD IDEA
Dr.Jill Biden, a lifelong public school and community college educator and former First Lady of the United States, will speak at Kaiser Permanente Arena at 7pm Saturday, Sept. 27. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, July 17 at 9 a.m. and can be purchased via Ticketmaster.com. Early access to tickets will be available through a series of exclusive presale events on Wednesday, July 16. Those interested in receiving presale access are encouraged to sign up for Warriors Insider (search Santa Cruz Warriors Insider).
GOOD WORK
The True Love Christian Music & Art Festival this Saturday in Aptos Village Park features over 12 churches gathering together to share their True Love for God and their neighbors.
All FREE including food, ice cream, 12 bands on two stages sharing about True Love, joyful activities for the whole family. Features include a climbing wall, art painting, bounce houses, a mechanical bull, gunny sack races, face painting and more. 10:30am-6pm.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
‘Modern Americans behave as if intelligence were some kind of hideous deformity.’ –Frank Zappa
Do you remember the Moss Landing Fire and do you want a repeat?
On Jan. 16, 2025, lithium-ion battery equipment ignited at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in Moss Landing, CA. Like many people affected by the fires, I have concerns about the health effects of humans, local sea life, livestock, pets and the contamination of the water and soil.
Since I was personally affected by the fire/s (asthma symptoms for more than six weeks), my main purpose for this letter is to inform the public of a report that you can find titled Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility (Battery) Fire Community Survey Results (neveragainmosslanding.org/the-moco-health survey) In this report a total of 1,539 people completed the health survey with 1,296 people who worked or resided within 16 zones closest to the facility. 243 individuals who responded live outside the 16 zones and include the communities of Capitola, Soquel, Live Oak, Santa Cruz City, Scotts Valley, Ben Lomond, Felton, Aptos, and Rio Del Mar. The health symptoms reported include headache, sore throat, coughing, itchy eyes, metallic taste in mouth, fatigue, congestion, dizziness or lightheadedness, watery eyes, and shortness of breath.
Do you know that the County of Santa Cruz is proposing three B.E.S.S. (Battery Energy Storage Sites) in our area? One is located near Aptos High School, a second near Dominican Hospital/Dominican Oaks and a third is in Watsonville (90 Minto Road). The Watsonville location is farthest along in the planning process and is proposed to be 14 acres. It is in a densely populated area and is very close to Minto Lake and Park. The next community informational meeting is set for July 17 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Live Oak Annex (979 17th Ave., Santa Cruz) by the Simpkins Family Swim Center.
Come and learn more!
Marlese Roton
ZEN HERE
In your current issue you asked for suggestions for future issues celebrating the 50th anniversary of Good Times.
I would like to suggest the Santa Cruz Zen Center on School Street, where zen students began practicing in 1973 under the guidance of beloved teacher the late Kobun Chino Otogawa. Kobun, as he was known to everyone, was invited by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi to help with the establishment of Tassajara Zen Monastery in the late ’60s and eventually made his way to teach in Santa Cruz at the invitation of a group of zen students.
During the 1980s there was a transition and the late Katherine Thanas from the San Francisco Zen Center was invited to be the teacher at the Santa Cruz Zen Center and was eventually named Abbot. Currently several of Katherine’s students, and some of their students, lead the practice.
The Santa Cruz Zen Center is up the block from Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park and down the block from Mission Plaza, and although upgrades have been made over the years the buildings look as they did when the center was established.
Ellen Richter
BEAUTIFY SANTA CRUZ
It’s peak tourist season, and yet the first thing that greets visitors is a falling-down sign at the entrance to our beautiful town, saying “Help beautify Santa Cruz,” tied to a couple of redwoods and surrounded by a chain-link fence. To the right, there is a rotating crew of down-and-out people soliciting money on the median under the “no soliciting on median” sign. On the left, we have an ice cream shop and then nearly three blocks of dilapidated houses and empty lots. What message does that send? Direct visitors to Midtown/Seabright businesses that are having a hard time with the bridge out. We need to make the entrance to our city reflect the colorful, artsy, playful place it is—we could start by removing the chain link fence. Can we encourage those landowners to rebuild or beautify their lots? Next, we could add vibrancy to this area by planting flowers and trees, making a food truck area, hosting an antique or art show in one of those empty lots on weekends, offering free parking in those lots and/or county building lot and a shuttle to and from downtown, midtown and the beaches and alleviate some of the traffic. Let’s do what Santa Cruz does best, be creative.
Hannah Nevins |Santa Cruz
THANKS PENNY
I want to thank the Penny Ice Creamery for their generous donation of ice cream to make this past Fourth of July special for the often forgotten children at the Santa Cruz Juvenile Hall. The donation was greatly enjoyed and appreciated! The Penny is a wonderful local business, one we should all support.
Summertime is peak pleasure season for us diehard foodies: farmers markets overflow with color, outdoor dining makes meals more fun, and just about every weekend brings a beach bonfire, BBQ or backyard potluck. With all this celebration, it’s no surprise our best eating habits can start to melt faster than the Penny Ice Creamery adds new flavors.
For many of us, the warm weather comes with an open invitation to indulge—as well we should, now and then. But somewhere between the spontaneous pizza nights, sweet treats and sunset cocktails, we may start to feel a little off: bloated, sluggish, or on a blood sugar rollercoaster we didn’t exactly buy a ticket for.
Which might leave one wondering, does everything good have to be bad? And how do we enjoy the season’s best without throwing our health goals—or gut—off balance?
First, the Usual Suspects
BBQ Blowouts: Between backyard burgers, buttery buns and mayo-soaked side dishes, typical cookout fare tends to be heavy on refined carbs, saturated fats and salty sauces that spike energy short-term but drain it long-term.
Sugary Summer Sweets: Ice cream cones, frozen cocktails and fruity desserts are tempting in the heat, but they can send your blood sugar soaring, leading to the inevitable crash (and more cravings).
Boozy Beverages: From sangria to spritzers, many summertime drinks pack more sugar than you’d guess. And let’s not forget: alcohol affects digestion, sleep, and the ability to make healthy choices later.
Vacation Mode Creep: You’re on vacation—treat yourself! But sometimes “vacation eating” seeps into everyday life. A few days of indulgence can become a few weeks of low energy and brain fog.
Eating Well, Feeling Good
The good news? You don’t have to skip the parties or snack on celery sticks in the corner to stay healthy. In fact, you can fully enjoy the flavors of the season by leaning into a time-tested eating style rooted in pleasure and nourishment: the Mediterranean approach.
It’s not a trend—it’s a lifestyle built around seasonal food, simple preparation and mindful enjoyment. Here in Santa Cruz, we’re practically set up for it.
Embrace the Season: The best way to upgrade your summer diet is to enjoy the best fresh produce you can find. From stone fruit and strawberries to sweet corn and juicy tomatoes, seasonal goodness is at its peak—delicious, fiber-rich and bursting with antioxidants.
Try these:
Grilled veggie skewers with olive oil and fresh herbs
Grilled peach and arugula salad with basil and balsamic
Cold gazpacho with cucumber, tomato, and garlic.
Balance Your Plate: Fill half of your plate with fiber-rich veggies (as even the USDA MyPlate guide advises) and add whole grains or legumes, along with healthy fats and lean proteins. This combo slows digestion, keeps blood sugar steady, and helps you feel satisfied without the food coma.
Think:
Grilled locally caught halibut (now in season) topped with fresh cherry tomato and zucchini compote and a side of wild rice.
Whole wheat pita with hummus, chopped cucumber and fresh mint
Marinated grilled portobello mushroom burger topped with fresh pesto, sliced heirloom tomato atop a Beckman’s sourdough bun, with a side of baked sweet potato fries
Flavor Without the Crash: Skip the sugary sauces and bottled dressings. The Mediterranean approach is all about natural flavor: lemon, vinegar, garlic, fresh herbs and good extra virgin olive oil.
Upgrade your condiments:
Use a tahini or yogurt-based dip instead of ranch.
Try chimichurri, pesto, or citrus vinaigrette instead of BBQ sauce.
Garnish with mint, dill, or basil for a flavor boost without added sugar.
Be Smart About Sips: Hydration is key, especially in the heat. If you’re enjoying a drink, alternate with water or a spritz of sparkling water and citrus to stay balanced. Here’s a mocktail idea:Muddle fresh berries and mint in a glass, add ice, and top with sparkling water and a splash of lime. You’ll feel festive and refreshed—without the hangover.
Eat Mindfully, Not Perfectly: In many Mediterranean cultures, meals are slow, social and savored. That pace helps digestion, reduces stress, and keeps you from accidentally inhaling a second plate of chips while distracted.
Try this: Before eating, pause. Take a breath. Appreciate the food in front of you. When you eat with awareness, you naturally eat in alignment with what your body needs.
The Bottom Line
Summer is meant to be savored. Food is meant to be enjoyed. The trick is finding a rhythm that honors both your appetite and your well-being.
With a few smart shifts—more fresh produce, fewer processed extras, and a mindset of mindful enjoyment—you can say yes to all the season has to offer, without feeling weighed down.
So bring the salad to the potluck, sip the mocktail by the pool, and let that grilled peach with honey remind you: feeling good doesn’t mean missing out—it means showing up, fully present and well-fed.
Elizabeth Borelli is an author and Mediterranean lifestyle expert. Visit ElizabethBorelli.com for free resources, news and events.
“Grungtry” is how Sarah Rebecca Harris, lead singer and founder of Dolly Creamer, describes their sound: a fusion of experimental folk and Americana mixed with punk and rock & roll.
Go-Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin performs at the Museum of Art & History July 17 with a "super-group" of local musicians. An Evening with Jane Wiedlin TONIGHT at MAH! 6:30–10pm
Progressive rock trio Stick Men bring their intense, rhythmically complex blend of Chapman Stick, guitar, and drums to the UCSC Recital Hall, performing their latest release "Brutal" alongside King Crimson instrumental classics. For this special performance, acclaimed guitarist Reeves Gabrels (The Cure, David Bowie) sits in for Tony Levin, with Crimson drummer Pat Mastelotto and touch-guitar master Markus Reuter. Saturday, July 19, 8pm
Published in cooperation between casino.org and Good Times Santa Cruz
Online gambling is currently illegal in California as of April 2025, and the wide-ranging state ban includes all online sportsbooks and casino sites. However, the broader national picture for iGaming in the United States has witnessed significant landmark changes in recent years, causing many industry experts to speculate about when...
Where would you bring a first-time visitor to Santa Cruz?
Hanuman Temple at Mount Madonna Center. The community there is so welcoming, and the temple is like stepping into another country.
Ariana Sandoval, 24, Chemical EngineerMika Saad, 22, Writer
Pacific Avenue, for a Sunday afternoon stroll — with a stop at Chocolate Café for a Passionfruit Margarita and their Cheese Bowl with...
There are other cities in California that claim to be the U.S. surf capital, but our cover story makes a convincing case that Santa Cruz is where the sport started on the mainland.
My main purpose for this letter is to inform the public of a report that you can find titled Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility (Battery) Fire Community Survey Results...
For many of us, the warm weather comes with an open invitation to indulge... how do we enjoy the season’s best without throwing our health goals—or gut—off balance?
