Page 225 | Good Times

Restaurants Come Back to Life

Cover Stories

October 18, 2023

There is quite a lineup for this year’s Restaurant Week, so taste buds get ready. And, with more foodie innovation on the horizon, the culinary collective can expect to see brighter days and brighter plates ahead.

Each of GT’s 2023 culinary creatives brings modern-day twists to both traditional and contemporary menus. Some Santa Cruz staples and some new to the scene, it looks like chefs are dishing up the sweet, savory and spicy, and everything in between.

Craving a crunchy-flakey beer-battered fish with some creamy homemade tartar sauce? How about a steamy plate of risotto with fresh local veggies and a crisp salad? Or, can Santa Cruz Restaurant Week stimulate the senses with a pungent steak served alongside the most delicate au jus?

Whatever tantalizes taste buds, there’s something for everyone in this year’s Restaurant Week guide, a local roundup of some of the yummiest eats in the area. These resilient restaurants serve up equal measures of local flavor and international fusion for a delicious bite.

Read on to learn what the chefs, owners and staff have to say about what they’re most excited about on this year’s menu. Each of them mixes their own dash of passion and flair that reaches beyond these pages and right onto the plate.

What dish are you most
excited about presenting
for Restaurant Week?

“All our dishes are pretty good, but I think the one that we’re well-known for in Scotts Valley is the ribs. We’re good at cooking ribs.”
— ROGELIO GUZMAN, CHEF, BRUNO’S BAR AND GRILL —

“I’m excited to get the ribeye steak out to people. It isn’t easy cooking steaks to order with the right temperature and it’s a great skill to be able to showcase.
The grilled prawn appetizer with coconut milk, bell peppers and crispy wontons is also a must.”
— CHEF DAMEON DEWORKEN, CRUZ KITCHEN & TAPS —

“I’d definitely go with the 8 oz. flat iron steak. It’s my favorite because I normally like to cook the meat [myself] and I’ve always made sure the quality of the meat is on point. Whenever anyone comes in [and orders it] it’s a satisfaction for me.”
— CHEF ALEXIS MUÑOZ, FAULTLINE BREWING COMPANY —

“It would be the stuffed squash with risotto. It has kabocha squash from Live Earth Farm, risotto, local vegetables, shiitake mushrooms, cheese which we make here, and balsamic sauce which is very nice.”
— PAUL COCKING, OWNER, GABRIELLA CAFE —

“I would say the dish we’re probably most excited to present is going to be the Hulu Himi Prawns. They’re very flavorful. Its complex flavors of yellow curry and a paste on the side make it a little bit spicier.”
— FRANCISCO CERVANTES, MANAGER, HULA’S ISLAND GRILL —

“We change our stuff very frequently because we’re very farm-to-table. But right now I would say the Capesante, which are these amazing seared scallops. We get them straight from Maine overnight and they’re beautiful. They sear really wonderfully and they have a really nice light sweetness to them.”
— ZYLEN CORNETE, MANAGER, LA POSTA —

“We are excited to participate in restaurant week since our new partnership and remodel. It gives us a chance for the community to try our new look and new menu.”
— MATTEO ROBECCHI, CHEF PATRON, LAGO DI COMO RISTORANTE —

“The poki bowl is the one I’m most excited about. It has triple-A grade sushi and ahi in there. So it’s really, really high quality fish inside. In terms of the rest of the ingredients and vegetables, there are a really interesting mix of flavors, and they’re also very, very fresh in terms of quality. I think I’m really excited to show off that perfect bowl.”
— LIAM COX, MANAGER, MAKAI ISLAND KITCHEN & GROGGERY —

“The grigliata mista is going to have a 10-ounce New York cut steak. It will be charbroiled and topped with a spicy calabrian sauce. It’s going to be served with sausage, caramelized bell peppers and onions and duchess potatoes.”
— ERNESTO GARCIA, MANAGER, RISTORANTE ITALIANO —

“The fried fish sandwich is phenomenal.
It’s beer-battered cod fried on a little pretzel bun with coleslaw and tartar sauce. It’s everything a sandwich should be and I think the flavor speaks for itself.”
— CHELSEA HOLMES, CHEF, RIVA FISH HOUSE —

Where to Go

Back Nine Grill and Bar
555 Highway 17, Santa Cruz;
831-226-2350

Bruno’s Bar and Grill
230 Mt Hermon Rd, Scotts Valley;
831-438-2227

Cafe Mare
740 Front St., Santa Cruz;
831-458-1212

Crow’s Nest
2218 E. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz;
831-476-4560

Cruz Kitchen and Taps
145 Laurel St., Santa Cruz;
831-713-5173

Faultline Brewing Company
262 Mt Hermon Rd Unit 103, Scotts
Valley;
831-226-2868

Gabriella Cafe
910 Cedar St., Santa Cruz;
831-457-1677

Hula’s Island Grill
221 Cathcart St., Santa Cruz;
831-426-4852

Jack O’Neill Restaurant
and Lounge
175 W. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz;
831-740- 8138

Kianti’s Pizza and Pasta Bar
1100 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz;
831-469-4400

La Posta
538 Seabright Ave., Santa Cruz;
831-457-2782

Lago di Como Ristorante
21490 E Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz;
831-454-8257

Things to do in Santa Cruz

Things To Do This Week

GT Staff

October 18, 2023

WEDNESDAY

ROCK

SURFER JOE Lorenzo Valdambrini a.k.a. Surfer Joe is shredding his way down the West Coast this October. Hailing from Livorno, Italy, the guitarist follows his love for the springy reverb and sunny tones of classic surf rock the way surfers chase perfect waves. Through hundreds of performances around the world both solo and with his former band Wadadli Riders, he has built a reputation as the unofficial “international surf music ambassador.” When he’s not splashing crowds with sound waves, Surfer Joe runs a retro American style diner in his hometown in Italy and co-organizes the annual Surfer Joe Summer Festival. ADDIE MAHMASSANI

INFO: 8:05pm, The Crépe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz. $. 429-6994.

THURSDAY

JAZZ

JOHN ESCREET TRIO British-born pianist and composer John Escreet apparently doesn’t believe in limiting himself to any particular style of music. He made his recording debut with a three-part avant garde suite, went on to play with free-improv saxophonist Evan Parker, and also delved into electronic music. He’s also worked as a sideman with NYC jazz explorers like saxophonist David Binney and drummer Antonio Sanchez. Last year he made his first trio recording, Seismic Shift, with a new rhythm section of bassist Eric Revis and drummer Damion Reid. It’s more conventional trio music, minus the electronic tools he’s experimented with on past recordings. DAN EMERSON

INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St. $31.50/adv, $36.75/door, $18.50. 427-2227

ROCK

BLACK ENDS Never heard of gunk pop? You will soon when the originators of the genre, Black Ends, bring their mesmerizing songs to the Blue Lagoon. Formed in 2019, this three piece is rewriting the Seattle sound with their own twist on punk, pop and grunge. This Black, queer-fronted band combines off-beat melodies, equally unnerving as they are catchy, with lyrics about, sexism, racism, depression and more. It’s not punk. It’s not grunge. It’s not indie or art rock. But somehow they manage to incorporate the best of all these genres for a sound that really, truly, is all their own. MAT WEIR

INFO: 9pm, The Blue Lagoon, 923 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $10. 423-7117.

FRIDAY

COMEDY

CASEY FREY Casey Frey spread across the Internet like wildfire in 2019 when he posted a video of himself chopping wood and dancing to the song “GOMF” by DVBBS. In fact, as fans know, Frey plays multiple absurd characters in the viral clip, including the judgmental one who declares, “Ur dumb.” The ensuing dance moves spawned a million reaction memes, led to a role for Frey in the band’s official music video for the song and had a moment as a pandemic dance trend on TikTok. Where does a goofball dancer turned digital sensation take his art? To the stage, naturally. AM

INFO: 8pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz. $32. 423-8209.

INDIE

**King Tuff** comes to Felton Music Hall, Friday. Photo: Wyndham-Garnett

KING TUFF Devotees of Sub Pop Records and indie darling Angel Olsen alike will recognize the name King Tuff; he’s signed to the former and touring with the latter, but he’ll be performing solo at this show. He plays psychedelic rock with lyrics in the vein of Devendra Banhart and a sound that evokes a place where the past crashes against the future. There is a tinge of British Invasion, mixed with the mellow grooves of 1970’s AM radio hits, but the sunshine-y melodies of his songs contain multitudes. It’s a little bit rock, a little bit punk, a little bit modern weirdo, and somehow it all works. JESSICA IRISH

INFO: 8pm, Felton Music Hall, 6275 Highway 9, Felton. $22/adv., $27/door. 704-7113.

SATURDAY

ROCK

Coffis Brothers – Coffis Plays Petty Photo: Bethany Johanna

COFFIS BROTHERS It’s hard to believe six years have passed since Tom Petty died unexpectedly from an accidental overdose. The rock ‘n roll troubadour–along with his band The Heartbreakers–wrote some of the biggest classic rock hits of the past 50 years and cemented himself in the history of American rock alongside Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan and others. Local mountain rockers The Coffis Brothers know this and to prove it they’re playing a two night gig at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center with an arsenal of Petty hits and–most likely–a deep cut or two. On Saturday they will be joined by Laura T. Lewis and on Sunday Alice Howe and Freebo will grace the stage. MW

INFO: 7:30pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320 2-Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $30. 427-2227.

SUNDAY

COUNTRY

PATTY GRIFFIN & HAYES CARLL Santa Cruz favorites Patty Griffin and Hayes Carll are back for a co-headlining tour! It’ll be a night of music and storytelling from these two performers, who have been friends and collaborators for many years. For those who don’t know: Griffin’s music is moving alt-country, guaranteed to appeal to fans of Emmylou Harris and Alison Krauss. Her songs are hearty, melodious, and mournful, while Snider’s are playful and conversational. Tood Snider, who was supposed to be on the show, had to cancel for health issues. Carll plays fun rock and tells stories. .The two of them together will surely be a joyful affair. JI

INFO: 8pm, Rio Theatre, 1205 Soquel Ave, Santa Cruz. $60. 423-1854.

METAL

POWERMAN 5000 While Millennials (guilty) will remember the dystopian sci-fi metal act from their 1999 album, Tonight The Stars Revolt! with hits, “When Worlds Collide,” “Nobody’s Real,” and “Supernova Goes Pop,” the band actually started in 1991, making the band almost as old as some of its fans. Eleven albums later and Powerman 5000 is still fronted by the distinct voice of Spider One (Rob Zombie’s younger brother) raining cyber-punk doom on welcoming ears. This will be a great night to relive memories and make some new ones, just remember to hydrate and take some aspirin before bed to help the back ache in the morning. MW

INFO: 8pm, Catalyst, 1011 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $25/adv, $30/door. 713-5492.

TUESDAY

BLUES

CAROLYN WONDERLAND With 2021’s Tempting Fate, Texas blues virtuoso Carolyn Wonderland officially joined Alligator Records as the iconic Chicago label’s first female guitarist in its fifty-year history. Upon the album’s release, she said, “I got to record a dream list of songs and play with a dream list of people.” In addition to five originals—including a love song to her boots called “Texas Girl and Her Boots”—the milestone release features a full-throttle rendition of “Loser” by the Grateful Dead and a duet with Jimmie Dale Gilmore for “It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry” by Bob Dylan. AM INFO: 8pm, Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $20/adv, $25/door. 479-1854.

Tapping In

Dining Reviews

Mark C. Anderson

October 18, 2023

The biggest surprise at new local beer outfit Balefire Brewing Co. will be…how unsurprising it is.

“There will be a lot of familiarity for people who knew it as East Cliff and Greater Purpose,” co-founder/ co-brewer Leslie Buchanan says, “and I hope they come back, because they like the beer, of course, but also because they find a sense of hospitality and community.”

BBC launched last weekend with four beers, four founders, eight taps and hard-to-quantify enthusiasm. The opening beers: a dynamic Leeloo American IPA, smooth Moped Irish red ale, O.P.A. session IPA and Wharf Rat blonde ale (along with a Boozy Bubbles hard seltzer and N.A. options).

Other taps will soon provide caskpulled beers, an ECB-style porter, a chocolate-vanilla stout and a citrus-forward pale ale called Naked Beer Falling Down the Stairs.

The double-couple founders: former Steel Bonnet and Highway 1 Brewing beer boss Buchanan (described on BBC’s website thusly: “Her mission is beer, no holds barred”); co-brewer Nate Murphy (“leaving his days of drinking under bridges behind”); Matt Buchanan (“when not tending bar or turning wrenches, you can find him at band practice”) and Stephanie Murphy (“fulfilling her dream of serving beer”).

Hours are 3-9pm Monday-Friday and noon-9pm Saturday-Sunday to start. Food truck schedules are in the works, basic snacks are available and BYO eats are welcome.

Leslie and Nate worked together at Scotts Valley’s Steel Bonnet, where they discovered they had a lot in common, including proper beverage priorities.

“We have some weird similarities, and neither of us came in with ego or anything to prove,” she says. “We just wanted to make good beer, and things turned out really well.”

STRONG WEEK
Santa Cruz Restaurant Week is here, running Oct. 18-25. Hallelujah/ amen/bon appetit. Upwards of two dozen standout restaurants like La Posta, Gabriella Cafe, Hula’s, Margaritaville and Riva Fish House roll out special three-course set menus at $25, $35, $45 or $55. Flip back in this issue for more. santacruzrestaurantweek.com

SMASHING SUCCESS SC
Bread Boy has to have one of the more entertaining Instagram feeds and not just for the food porn-grade portraits of epic smashburgers. I’m talking about videos of Bread Boy (aka Lance Ebert) on the open highway, astride a Harley, long hair dancing behind his helmet, shirtless-and-overalls outfit revealing ample ink, a race home in full throttle with the caption: “Loser gets a tattoo of the winner eating fried chicken.” Similar verve goes into the burgers, which he sizzles 4-9pm Mondays and Tuesdays at Avanti Restaurant in Santa Cruz. instagram.com/s.c.bread_boy

PRETTY ‘N’ PLUMP
Full Steam Dumpling and 11th Hour Coffee represent two Santa Cruz jewels and my top spots for prepared farmers market food and coffee-and-writing sessions, respectively. So it’s doubly dope when FSD appears at 11th Hour 5-9pm Wednesday-Saturday to dish salads, ramen, bao and (yes) a half dozen different dumplings like lamb and scallion, chicken and wood ear mushroom and crispy goat cheese. fullsteamdumpling.com FOOD+DRINK

The Editor’s Desk

Letters to the Editor

Brad Kava

October 18, 2023

Santa Cruz California editor of good times news media print and web — Brad Kava | Good Times Editor

You’d better take a lot of pictures of Santa Cruz as it looks now, because the times they are a changin’.

We all know we need affordable housing, and with each day that passes, rents become more unaffordable. Buying a house seems unimaginable and our once quaint town is growing like a teen on steroids.

One seemingly logical train of thought is that if we build more housing, prices will come down. By creating more supply, demand will decrease, housing advocates theorize. And in many ways, that might be the best path.

However, to do that in a limited space, you have to build up, not out. And to make living affordable, the government has to step in and require developers to include units at reasonable prices.

But therein lies the rub. In a desirable beach community like ours, with two colleges and lots of vacation homes owned by Silicon Valley residents, supply can never outpace demand. People are going to want to live here no matter what.

And by that, I might add, rich people will want to live here and they can afford to bid up everything. UCSC should not be limited to students with wealthy parents who can absorb the increasing tuition and housing costs. Cabrillo students are often bunking with their families and the cost of living here is driving the school’s attendance steadily down to almost half of what it was a decade ago.

There’s some light in that tunnel, as the state is helping to fund student housing for both schools, but it all seems like a drop in the bucket.

Our pages this week are lined with housing complaints. Our Street Talk column asks people on the street when they can afford a house and the answers are numbingly sad.

“I would need a new line of work,” said one 27-year-old woman. “I’m a teacher, but it would be nice to have a job that could afford you a house. My partner and I work in two of the least lucrative industries in one of the most expensive places on Earth. That’s a tough combination.”

It’s been a running theme lately. We have made one of the greatest small cities in the world, but few young or middle class people can afford to live here. We’ve got more opinions in letters on this page.

Do you have any solutions? Send them in and share them with our readers.
Send to ed****@*****ys.com

Thanks for reading and sending us your views.

Brad Kava | Editor

Photo Contest

**SUNNY AFTERNOON** This is the newest Natural Bridge, at Natural Bridges State Park. Photo on Aug.1 by Ross Levoy.

Good News

The County of Santa Cruz has completed a Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the Coastal Rail Trail Segments 10 and 11 Project.

The Project extends along the Santa Cruz Branch Line rail corridor from the eastern side of 17th Avenue to the western side of State Park Drive in Aptos on the east.

The public review period began Oct. 16 and ends Dec. 15. Comments on the Draft EIR should be submitted in writing to Rob Tidmore at 979 17th Avenue, Santa Cruz, CA 95062 or via email to Good Works

Every public school student and teacher, as well as every Californian with a library card, can now access over 5,000 theater, music and dance performance videos and audio performances and over 3,000 world music albums anytime they want, online at no charge through their school district and local library.

Check the online resources section of your local library or ask a librarian. If the library hasn’t added the resources yet, encourage library staff to find out more by emailing K1***********@********ca.gov.

Quote of the Week

“Anything that costs you your peace is too expensive.”
—Paulo Coelho

Letters

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

October 18, 2023

SMALL INDIVIDUAL ACTS

Democracy and civilization are preserved through small, individual acts. This is mine.
I live in Soquel (technically Santa Cruz), and have been raising funds to support Ukraine’s struggle for independence and freedom. I’ll be traveling to Lviv next week at my own expense to do my part, and thought this might make for an interesting story. I’d love the increased visibility to help with fundraising (we’ve already collected ~$10K in only a month).
More details on my Substack here: https://tallmartin.substack.com/p/im-going-to-ukraine

Martin Buhr

HOUSING PROBLEMS

Putting high density housing along transport corridors or in commercial centers has been promoted as a way to counter sprawl and protect regional farmland for decades now. However the high rise at the former Taco Bell (RIP) is pretty outrageous. It will only result in neighboring property owners selling up to the next big city developer with deep pockets.

Roseanne Hernandez Cattani

MORE HOUSING TROUBLES

My husband and I are both teachers and we are planning to leave. It doesn’t make sense to live in a place where everyone wants to live in the 1950s like the population hasn’t grown! For all you locals who don’t want transplants coming into your precious retro-enclave, I leave you with this thought: Are you willing to fill the empty positions that will be left when those of us who can’t own homes leave? If you want a vibrant city full of skilled workers, we need affordable places to live, otherwise, you’ll be left with a quaint town full of aging homeowners reminiscing about the good old days, and not much else.

O’Brien Celina

HOSPITAL SHORTAGE

Why not report on the fact that there is NO TRAUMA center for those already here, and each trauma has to be airlifted out at a cost of about $45,000 with no way to get home? How about how all of us here right now would burn alive sitting on our ONLY artery out of here, Hwy 1? Or, how are we to evacuate in a tsunami? Who is selling us all out to our possible deaths? Now there’s a storyline. Also, it has taken 45 minutes to an hour to get a flight, this is stuff people should know before their loved one needs immediate trauma care.

Chrissy Brown

Free Will Astrology

Astrology

Rob Brezsny

October 18, 2023

ARIES March 21-April 19 JooHee Yoon is an illustrator and designer. She says, “So much of artmaking is getting to know yourself through the creative process, of making mistakes and going down rabbit holes of research and experimentation that sometimes work out—and sometimes don’t.” She adds, “The failures are just as important as the successes.” I would extend this wisdom, applying it to how we create our personalities and lives. I hope you will keep it in mind as you improvise, experiment with and transform yourself in the coming weeks.

TAURUS April 20-May 20 Sometimes, we droop and shrivel in the face of a challenge that dares us to grow stronger and smarter. Sometimes, we try our best to handle a pivotal riddle with aplomb but fall short. Neither of these two scenarios will be in play for you during the coming months. I believe you will tap into reserves of hidden power you didn’t realize you had access to. You will summon bold, innovative responses to tantalizing mysteries. I predict you will accomplish creative triumphs that may have once seemed beyond your capacities.

GEMINI May 21-June 20 Gemini novelist Meg Wolitzer suggests that “one of the goals of life is to be comfortable in your own skin and in your own bed and on your own land.” I suspect you won’t achieve that goal in the coming weeks, but you will lay the foundation for achieving that goal. You will figure out precisely what you need in order to feel at home in the world, and you will formulate plans to make that happen. Be patient with yourself, dear Gemini. Be extra tender, kind and accommodating. Your golden hour will come.

CANCER June 21-July 22 Some astrologers say you Crabs are averse to adventure, preferring to loll in your comfort zones and entertain dreamy fantasies. As evidence that this is not always true, I direct your attention to a great Cancerian adventurer, the traveling chef Anthony Bourdain. In the coming weeks, I hope you will be inspired by these Bourdain quotes: 1. “If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Open your mind, get up off the couch, move.” 2. “What a great way to live, if you could always do things that interest you, and do them with people who interest you.” 3. “The more I become aware of, the more I realize how relatively little I know, how much more there is to learn. Maybe that’s enlightenment enough—to know there is no final resting place of the mind.” 4. “Travel is about the gorgeous feeling of teetering in the unknown.”

LEO July 23-Aug. 22 Author Iain S. Thomas writes, “The universe is desperately trying to move you into the only spot that truly belongs to you—a space that only you can stand in. It is up to you to decide every day whether you are moving towards or away from that spot.” His ideas overlap with principles I expound in my book, Pronoia Is the Antidote for Paranoia: How the Whole World Is Conspiring to Shower You with Blessings. There I propose that life often works to help dissolve your ignorance and liberate you from your suffering. I hypothesize that you are continually being given opportunities to grow smarter and wilder and kinder. In the coming weeks, everything I’ve described here will be especially apropos to you. All of creation will be maneuvering you in the direction of feeling intensely at home with your best self. Cooperate, please!

VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22 “Never do anything that others can do for you,” said Virgo novelist Agatha Christie. That’s not a very Virgo-like attitude, is it? Many astrologers would say that of all the zodiac’s signs, your tribe is the most eager to serve others but not aggressively seek the service of others on your behalf. But I suspect this dynamic could change in the coming weeks. Amazingly, cosmic rhythms will conspire to bring you more help and support than you’re accustomed to. My advice: Welcome it. Gather it in with gusto.

LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22 I’m not enamored of Shakespeare’s work. Though I enjoy his creative use of language, his worldview isn’t appealing or interesting. The people in his stories don’t resonate with me, and their problems don’t feel realistic. If I want to commune with multi-faceted characters dealing with fascinating dilemmas, I turn to French novelist Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850). I feel a kinship with his complex, nuanced understanding of human nature. Please note I am not asserting that Shakespeare is bad and Balzac is good. I’m merely stating the nature of my subjective personal tastes. Now I invite you to do what I have done here: In the coming weeks, stand up unflinchingly for your subjective personal tastes.

SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21 As much as I love logic and champion rational thinking, I’m granting you an exemption from their iron-grip supremacy in the coming weeks. To understand what’s transpiring and to respond with intelligence, you must partly transcend logic and reason. They will not be sufficient guides as you wrestle with the Great Riddles that will be visiting. In a few weeks, you will be justified in quoting ancient Roman author Tertullian, who said the following about his religion, Christianity: “It is true because it is impossible.”

SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21 As a Sun-conjunct-Uranus person, I am fond of hyperbole and outrageousness. “Outlandish” is one of my middle names. My Burning Man moniker is “Friendly Shocker,” and in my pagan community, I’m known as Irreverend Robbie. So take that into consideration when I suggest you meditate on Oscar Wilde’s assertions that “all great ideas are dangerous” and “an idea that is not dangerous is unworthy of being called an idea.” Oscar and I don’t mean that interesting possibilities must be a risk to one’s health or safety. Rather, we’re suggesting they are probably inconvenient for one’s dogmas, habits and comfort zones. I hope you will favor such disruptors in the coming days.

CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19 Some people might feel they have achieved the peak of luxury if they find themselves sipping Moët & Chandon Imperial Vintage Champagne while lounging on a leather and diamond-encrusted PlumeBlanche sofa on a hand-knotted Agra wool rug aboard a 130-foot-long Sunseeker yacht. But I suspect you will be thoroughly pleased with the subtler forms of luxury that are possible for you these days. Like what? Like surges of appreciation and acknowledgment for your good work. Like growing connections with influences that will interest you and help you in the future. Like the emotional riches that come from acting with integrity and excellence.

AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18 There are over 20 solutions to the riddle your higher mind is now contemplating. Several of them are smart intellectually but not emotionally intelligent. Others make sense from a selfish perspective but would be less than a blessing for some people in your life. Then there are a few solutions that might technically be effective but wouldn’t be much fun. I estimate there may only be two or three answers that would be intellectually and emotionally intelligent, would be of service not only to you but also to others and would generate productive fun.

PISCES Feb. 19-March 20 Naturalist John Muir didn’t like the word “hiking.” He believed people ought to saunter through the wilderness, not hike. “Hiking” implies straight-ahead, no-nonsense, purposeful movement, whereas “sauntering” is about wandering around, being reverent towards one’s surroundings and getting willingly distracted by where one’s curiosity leads. I suggest you favor the sauntering approach in the coming weeks—not just in nature but in every area of your life. You’re best suited for exploring, gallivanting and meandering.
Homework: My new book is available: Astrology Is Real: 6 Revelations from My Life as an Oracle. https://bit.ly/IsAstrologyReal

Street Talk

Street Talk

John Koenig

October 18, 2023

**Jeremy Carlson, 64, Owner, Dyeing For A Brighter World**

“Dylan said ‘money doesn’t talk, it swears.’ It’s gonna take a lotta cursing. It takes a lot of money, and where do you get it? At this point I’m shocked that I’m still here.”

“It’s impossible, right? A million dollars as a starting price. The market is oriented to the people who can be here for the summer. For most people the only option is to live outside of here and come to work.”

“Our mistake was not being born 30 years sooner. That’s where we messed up. Even three years ago at least you could get a decent interest rate.”

**Mike Wood, 40, Social Worker, and Jamie Wood, 36, Environmental Scientist/Mom**

“We own a condo. What made it possible? About 10 years of saving—and Covid. In 2020 prices dipped a little and we were able to get in.”

“We bought a house 12 years ago, by working very, very hard and being diligent, but I couldn’t do it now. The neighborhoods are changing. We’re not seeing the same vibrancy with the types of people that can afford the housing.”

“I would need a new line of work. I’m a teacher, but it would be nice to have a job that could afford you a house. My partner and I work in two of the least lucrative industries in one of the most expensive places on Earth. That’s a tough combination.”

Turning Weed Into Beer

Cannabis

Dan Mitchell

October 18, 2023

There are many criteria for assessing how challenging the still-new legal cannabis business is: mounting losses or declining profits, businesses going belly-up, layoffs. But there’s at least one more: the increasing trend of cannabis companies expanding into noncannabis industries.

Diversification—a strategy where a business offers a variety of products—often makes sense and that’s especially true when a core business yields narrow profit margins, as cannabis generally does. The high costs often stem from high taxes and regulations that might be necessary, but are expensive to comply with and the continued federal illegality of weed. That’s why we often see merch like t-shirts, branded ballcaps, beer koozies and the like in local dispensaries.

Among the big, publicly traded cannabis companies, Tilray Brands is probably the best-known diversifier.

Recently, it has started to seem almost more of a beer company than a cannabis company. It is now the fifth-largest craft brewer in the United States, in fact, having purchased a clutch of breweries including storied brands like Redhook Ale, Sweetwater and Widmer Bros.

Tilray is also a pharmaceutical company—with most of its products being cannabis-based—a fashion marketer, a producer of hard liquor and a maker of energy drinks. It also grows cucumbers. But beer is where it’s putting most of its brand-expansion money, though for now it still makes most of its money from cannabis.

In August, Tilray shelled out $85 million to Anheuser-Busch InBev for eight craft brands. AB said it was unloading the brands in part because of shortfalls stemming from the idiotic “boycott” of Bud Light staged by the American right wing in response to AB running a one-time internet ad featuring a trans person.

Whether that’s a genuine reason for the sale can’t be known, but large brewers have been exiting the craft-beer market in recent years to concentrate on their core, watery, mass-market brews. It’s also difficult to know why Tilray is getting so heavily into craft beer, at least from listening to what its executives say about it. The company now bills itself as a “lifestyle consumer packaged goods company.”

Note that the word “cannabis” is entirely absent from that description. In a “town hall” meeting with the investment platform Public, in January, Tilray Finance Chief Carl Merton added the “cannabis” back in while describing the company as a “diversified cannabis lifestyle consumer packaged goods company…across adult-use and medical cannabis, beverage-alcohol, and wellness consumer products.”

During an August conference call with investors, Tilray CEO Irwin Simon explained the acquisitions this way: “Ultimately, upon legalization one day, is there the opportunity for adjacencies in the THC and CBD world, and having that distribution system, having those manufacturing facilities?”

Apparently, that was a rhetorical question. It seems far-fetched to believe that cannabis could be plugged into a beer-distribution system, but big corporations do love their “synergies,” even when they don’t really exist.

To some degree, at least, Simon might have been thinking mostly about regulatory compliance and is hoping that federal legalization will have weed governed similarly to alcohol, with producers, distributors and retail shops regulated separately. It’s possible it will go that way, but it’s also possible that it won’t. And even if it does, that doesn’t mean companies can just patch weed onto their booze-distribution systems. It seems much more likely that Tilray is just looking for ways to shore up its losses.

And to be fair, things have improved.

A couple of weeks ago, the company reported that its revenues were up 15% in its most recent quarter and while it still is reporting losses, those have narrowed.

Tilray is right that federal legalization will be key to its success, but assuming it happens, it will have little to do with its beer acquisitions or its other non-cannabis businesses. It will be because Tilray and all other cannabis players will be able to do business like anybody else, including transporting weed across state lines, writing expenses off their taxes like every other business does and getting services like banking and insurance without excessive amounts of hassle.

In the meantime, a lot of the pressure could be taken off the industry if states like California were to lower taxes and ease up on the more onerous regulations. For the moment, the chances of that seem as frustratingly remote as the chances that Congress will legalize weed.

Vigil For Palestinians Held At UCSC

Breaking News

William S. Woodhams

October 16, 2023

On Monday night, UCSC group Students for Justice in Palestine held a vigil to mourn the Gazans killed by Israeli bombing and siege. Over a hundred people stood in silence at the UCSC Quarry Plaza as night fell.

A speaker whose identity was kept hidden—all speakers wore masks to hide their identity in consideration of their safety—gave a brief history of Palestine over the last seventy-five years. The vigil was not merely for the twenty-four hundred Gazans killed since Oct. 7th, but for all those Palestinians who have died under Israeli occupation, he explained.

Another speaker recited the opening of the Quran, Sura Al-Fatiha, upon the request of his friend in Gaza.

Another speaker acknowledged the danger Palestinian face today and thanked the crowd for coming despite the personal risk they faced doing so: “I know it is easier to speak out from the safety of social media but it means a lot seeing the community mobilize like this,” they said.

There was no noticeable disturbance of the proceedings.

Draped in a Palestinian flag, two people cried. Students drew messages of solidarity on the side-walk and placed candles around the Palestinian flag.

The organizers told the crowd that no video of the event or pictures of people’s faces would be allowed. The organizers of the event declined to comment.

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