Rob Brezsnyโ€™s Astrology: April 26-May 2

ARIES (March 21-April 19): According to a study by Newsweek magazine, 58 percent of us yearn to experience spiritual growth; 33 percent report having had a mystical or spiritual experience; 20 percent of us say we have had a revelation from God in the last year and 13 percent have been in the presence of an angel. Given the astrological omens currently in play for you Aries, I suspect you will exceed all those percentages in the coming weeks. I hope you will make excellent use of your sacred encounters. What two areas of your life could most benefit from a dose of divine assistance or intervention? Thereโ€™s never been a better time than now to seek a Deus ex machina. (More info: tinyurl.com/GodIntercession)

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): After the fall of the Roman Empire, political cohesion in its old territories was scarce for hundreds of years. Then a leader named Charlemagne (747โ€“814) came along and united much of what we now call Western Europe. He was unusual in many respects. For example, he sought to master the arts of reading and writing. Most other rulers of his time regarded those as paltry skills that were beneath their dignity. I mention this fact, Taurus, because I suspect itโ€™s a propitious time to consider learning things you have previously regarded as unnecessary or irrelevant or outside your purview. What might these abilities be?

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I’m turning this horoscope over to Nigerian poet Ijeoma Umebinyuo. She has three messages that are just what you need to hear right now. 1. โ€œStart now. Start where you are. Start with fear. Start with pain. Start with doubt. Start with hands shaking. Start with voice trembling but start. Start and don’t stop. Start where you are, with what you have.โ€ 2. โ€œYou must let the pain visit. You must allow it to teach you. But you must not allow it to overstay.โ€ 3. โ€œWrite a poem for your 14-year-old self. Forgive her. Heal her. Free her.โ€

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Historical records tell us that Chinese Emperor Hungwu (1328โ€“1398) periodically dealt with overwhelming amounts of decision-making. During one ten-day phase of his reign, for example, he was called on to approve 1,660 documents concerning 3,391 separate issues. Based on my interpretation of the planetary omens, I suspect you may soon be called on to deal with a similar outpouring. This might tempt you toward over-stressed reactions like irritation and self-medication. But I hope youโ€™ll strive to handle it all with dignity and grace. In fact, thatโ€™s what I predict you will do. In my estimation, you will be able to summon the extra poise and patience to manage the intensity.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Is it even possible for us humans to live without fearโ€”if even for short grace periods? Could you or I or anyone else somehow manage to celebrate, say, 72 hours of freedom from all worries and anxieties and trepidations? I suspect the answer is no. We may aspire to declare our independence from dread, but 200,000 years of evolution ensures that our brains are hard-wired to be ever-alert for danger. Having provided that perspective, however, I will speculate that if anyone could approach a state of utter dauntlessness, it will be you Leos in the next three weeks. This may be as close as you will ever come to an extended phase of bold, plucky audacity.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): โ€œDear Sunny Bright Cheery Upbeat Astrologer: You give us too many sunny, bright, cheery, upbeat predictions. They lift my mood when I first read them, but later I’m like, โ€˜What the hell?โ€™ Because yeah, they come true, but they usually cause some complications I didn’t foresee. Maybe you should try offering predictions that bum me out, since then I won’t have to deal with making such big adjustments. โ€”Virgo Who is Weary of Rosy Hopeful Chirpy Horoscopes.โ€ Dear Virgo: You have alluded to a key truth about reality: Good changes often require as much modification and adaptation as challenging changes. Another truth: One of my specialties is helping my readers manage those good changes. And by the way: I predict the next two weeks will deliver a wealth of interesting and buoyant changes.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Poet Pablo Neruda wrote, โ€œLet us look for secret things somewhere in the world on the blue shores of silence.โ€ That might serve as a good motto for you in the coming weeks. By my astrological reckoning, you’ll be wise to go in quest for what’s secret, concealed and buried. You will generate fortuitous karma by smoking out hidden agendas and investigating the rest of the story beneath the apparent story. Be politely pushy, Libra. Charmingly but aggressively find the missing information and the shrouded rationales. Dig as deep as you need to go to explore the truth’s roots.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): We’ve all done things that make perfect sense to us, though they might look nonsensical or inexplicable to an outside observer. Keep this fact in your awareness during the next two weeks, Scorpio. Just as you wouldn’t want to be judged by uninformed people who donโ€™t know the context of your actions, you should extend this same courtesy to others, especially now. At least some of what may appear nonsensical or inexplicable will be serving a valuable purpose. Be slow to judge. Be inclined to offer the benefit of the doubt.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): I completely understand if you feel some outrage about the lack of passion and excellence you see in the world around you. You have a right to be impatient with the laziness and carelessness of others. But I hope you will find ways to express your disapproval constructively. The best approach will be to keep criticism to a minimum and instead focus on generating improvements. For the sake of your mental health, I suggest you transmute your anger into creativity. You now have an enhanced power to reshape the environments and situations you are part of so they work better for everyone.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): In the 17th century, renowned Capricorn church leader James Ussher announced he had discovered when the world had been created. It was at 6pm on October 22 in the year 4004 BCE. From this spectacularly wrong extrapolation, we might conclude that not all Capricorns are paragons of logic and sound analysis 100 percent of the time. I say we regard this as a liberating thought for you in the coming weeks. According to my analysis, it will be a favorable time to indulge in wild dreams, outlandish fantasies and imaginative speculations. Have fun, dear Capricorn, as you wander out in the places that singer Tom Petty referred to as โ€œThe Great Wide Open.โ€

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): We often evaluate prospects quantitatively: how big a portion do we get, how much does something cost, how many social media friends can we add? Quantity does matter in some cases, but on other occasions may be trumped by quality. A few close, trustworthy friends may matter more than hundreds of Instagram friends we barely know. A potential house may be spacious and affordable, but be in a location we wouldnโ€™t enjoy living in. Your project in the coming weeks, Aquarius, is to examine areas of your life that you evaluate quantitatively and determine whether there are qualitative aspects neglected in your calculations.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): โ€œDear Dr. Astrology: Help! I want to know which way to go. Should I do the good thing or the right thing? Should I be kind and sympathetic at the risk of ignoring my selfish needs? Or should I be a pushy stickler for what’s fair and true, even if I look like a preachy grouch? Why is it so arduous to have integrity? โ€”Pinched Pisces.โ€ Dear Pisces: Can you figure out how to be half-good and half-right? Half-self-interested and half-generous? I suspect that will generate the most gracious, constructive results.


Homework: If you could change into an animal for a day, what would you be? newsletter.freewillastrology.com

Alderwood Pacificโ€™s Apps and Cocktail Program are a Perfect Pairing

Sleek and spacious, Alderwood Pacific offers a pared-down, casual take on its signature menu. Think playful hands-on rather than a palace of high dining. The extensive bar and high ceiling look great, with natural light pouring in from two directions.

Generously spaced tables ensure everybody can spread out amid the indigo walls and dramatic botanicals. The clientele runs the gamut from families with Patagonia-clad children to single students nursing cocktails and inhaling fries to the migratory flock of flagship Alderwood patrons who come to sample the short menu and long list of cocktails. Many burgers and assorted fried appetizers populate the central core of the menu. 

Racks of golden featherlight tempura-fried onion rings were being dropped off at many tables. These gossamer creations are a bona fide signature of the Alderwood approachโ€”American diner classics whipped up with costly ingredients and elaborate kitchen prep.

My companion went for the blockbuster Inside/Outside Burger ($18), while I decided to see what designer ingredients could do for a Smoked Beets & Baby Kale Salad ($18) plus a side of grilled Bavette steak for $21 more.

But first, let me praise the house Barolo Negroni, a soul-nourishing crimson elixir that arrived with a plump ice cube and a twist of orange ($15). Almost nothing in the world can’t be improved by adding Campari and gin.

But the astute addition of Barolo Chinato upped the game for two of my favorite liquids (the Campari, as mentioned earlier, and gin). The distinctive Chinato added a luxurious and full-bodied center filled with notes of bitter orange, gentian and cardamom (and probably more herbal aromatics). This cocktail was a study in savory bittersweetnessโ€”refreshing with a bold flavor landscape. In a word, yum.

My dinner partner ordered a well-made Rhรดne-style GSM red from Santa Barbara’s Land of Saints, a generous pour for $15. But I could tell he wanted my drink. So, I shared.

Bypassing the many fried appetizers on the menu, we were content with two main courses. The burger was a layering of smashed ground beef, well-done, plus onion jam, cheddar cheese, sweet pickles, Thousand Island and LTO corralled between two perfect hemispheres of sesame seed brioche bun.

Indeed, an opera of condiments, yet the anticipated juicy beef centerpiece failed to arrive. The two flat slabs of beef had been cooked into the next time zone. However, my perfectly cooked rare to medium rare grilled Bavette steak smothered the beets and greens with meaty juiciness.

A rococo dish, very intensely flavoredโ€”thanks to the nutty, sweet tahini and the assertive fried shallotsโ€”and loaded with smoked beets so good I couldn’t put my fork down. However, the overall effect of smoked, sticky-sweet and fried began to tire my palate halfway through. And while the salad offered plenty of crisp romaine and red radicchio, there was little in the way of baby kale.

The succulent beef was tasty, like meaty butter or buttery meat. And the portion that arrived as a โ€œsideโ€ was enormous.

By the time we left to keep a movie date, the Patagonia kids had eaten everything on their plates, and the tech quartet in the front window was working on their second bottle of Windy Oaks Chardonnay. On to the next gig.

Alderwood Pacific, 1108 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. alderwoodsantacruz.com

Indulge in the Luxury of Bernardus 2021 Pinot Noir

A trip to Carmel means lots of opportunities for wine tasting. Both Carmel-by-the-Sea and Carmel Valley are overflowing with beautiful wineries and tasting rooms.

We always stay at the Hofsas House on Ocean Avenue and San Carlos. A welcoming atmosphere awaits you in this family-owned inn, along with a tasty breakfast of pastries, fruit and yogurt served in the lobby. Thereโ€™s plenty of parking, and itโ€™s an easy walk into the center of townโ€”making tasting rooms and restaurants very accessible. On a chilly day, lighting a fire in our room with the provided logs was marvelous. Opening a bottle of Bernardus Pinot Noir and enjoying a glass in our cozy room was perfect.

Bernardus Winery produces superb wines, and itโ€™s a beautiful drive from the Hofsas House to their location in Carmel Valley. The 2021 Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir ($22) is a lush mouthful of rich and expressive vino with intense red fruit flavors and aromatic spice notesโ€”ripe cherry, plum and strawberry aromas round out this outstanding wine.

Bernardus is well worth visitingโ€”pair tastings with savory appetizers such as a cheese and charcuterie plate for $20.

Bernardus Winery, 5 West Carmel Valley Road, Carmel Valley, 831-298-8021. bernardus.com

MEZZALUNA PASTERIA

One of our favorite restaurants is Mezzaluna; our recent dinner there was outstanding. Chef Soerke Peters excels at preparing his famous mozzarella and various exceptional pasta. His flavorful gelatos are excellent, and the house-made bread is the best. Co-owned by Peters and Amy Stouffer, no stone is left unturned to ensure customers have a superb dining experience with perfectly prepared cuisine. Mezzalunaโ€™s food simply dazzles!

Mezzaluna, 1188 Forest Ave., Pacific Grove, 831-372-5325. mezzalunapasteria.com

Castagnola’s Deli & Cafรฉ Delivers Quality and Affordability in Capitola

For Daniel Castagnola, buying a local deli was an opportunity that kept โ€œbiting at his ankles.โ€ He took the plunge even though he had no experience in restaurants or food service. But he felt he had a good business background and fell in love with the beachside location, describing it as his destiny. The menu is deli fare with an emphasis on quality and affordabilityโ€”everything on the menu is under $10.

One signature grab-and-go offering for kids is the Beach Bucket Meal Deal, complete with pale, shovel, P.B.&J. or grilled cheese, juice box, cookie and chips. Other hits include the chicken apple brie sandwich and the clam chowder in a buttered garlic top bread bowl. Breakfast favorites include avocado toast, breakfast sandwiches and steel-cut oats. Desserts like banana bread and baklava round out the menu.

The shop is open 8am-6pm daily (closed Tuesdays) with indoor and outdoor seating. GT asked Castagnola about the deliโ€™s mission and the moment he knew it was meant to be.

What moved you about the location?

DANIEL CASTAGNOLA: I fell in love with the vibe and energy of the space, as well as the ocean view from the front stoop. And right when I got the keys, and we started painting inside, my grandpa pointed across the street and told me that was where he met my grandma. It gave me chills and the confirmation I was doing the right thing and fulfilling my calling. It all just felt so right.


Whatโ€™s your motto?

Fresh, fast and friendly. And that we have something for everyone. We always say, โ€œYou dream it; we make it.โ€ We have a great variety and are happy to customize; guests often order off-menu items and combinations. Weโ€™ve always listened intently to customer feedback and constantly strive to dial in our menu to local tastes and preferences. And we always try to be consistent and affordable. 

Castagnola’s Deli & Cafรฉ, 201 Monterey Ave., Capitola, 831-515-7979; order.castagnoladeli.com

Lisa Jensen Reflects on Her Careerโ€”and the Future of Moviegoing

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Forty-six years and two months.

No, thatโ€™s not how long weโ€™ve all been hunkered down in the grip of Covid. Itโ€™s the length of my career writing film reviews for Good Times. As the pandemic raged and movie theaters shut down, my contributions became more sporadic, but 2022 was the first year in seemingly forever that not one single review of mine appeared in print.

To put it in perspective, my first movie review (Monty Python and the Holy Grail) was published in GT in October 1975, a year and a half before I met my Art Boy in the spring of 1977. We moved in together in February 1978 and married nearly eight months later. We were together for forty years โ€™til death did us apart. That was almost five years ago. Before, during and after all that time together, Iโ€™ve been writing weekly film reviews for GT; until the Attack of Covid, when my career came to a screeching halt. March 2020 was the last time I went to a theater to review a movie, about four days before they all shut down. (The last six films I wrote about in the paper were viewed online.) 

Talk about an identity crisis!

I was a wide-eyed 23-year-old just out of UCSC, in my embroidered hippie overalls, when I started my stint at GT. I figured going to the movies would be a fun way to make my rent until I had to get an actual job. (Historical note: Rents were a lot cheaper in those days.)

On the face of it, I had zero qualifications for this job. I wasnโ€™t a film scholar and had never taken a journalism class. But Iโ€™d spent my entire childhood watching old movies on TV with my mom. In those days, you couldnโ€™t just dial up something on demand; you had to be prepared to stay up until 1am on a Saturday, for instance, for the weekly movie classics on The Fabulous 52 in L.A., which began at 11:15pm, right after the news. My mom popped the corn, and my night-owl brothers and I would settle in.

The series MGM Classics played every Sunday afternoon in syndication, and another station played classic foreign movies with subtitles. Musicals, monster movies, studio classics from Hollywoodโ€™s Golden Age, Errol Flynn swashbucklers, cheesy Italian gladiator movies, my momโ€™s appetite was inexhaustible, and we watched them all!

The rest was on-the-job training. Fortunately, I was inspired by how amazingly diverse the Santa Cruz movie scene was in those days. Besides mainstream movies at the chain theaters, there was the original single-screen Nickelodeon, the repertory-style Sash Mill Cinema for art-house fare, the plucky, independently-owned Capitola Theater (which persisted in showing double-features with cartoons, and 15-cent M&Ms, well into the โ€˜80s), a thriving drive-in, even a venue for X-rated movies at the old Cinema Soquel.

I was still at it ten years after my first byline at GT. I was having way too much fun! Back then, I used to joke that Iโ€™d been with the paper so long people meeting me for the first time expected me to be 80 years old.

Once, in the mid-โ€™90s, a young writer who had recently joined our editorial pool asked around to find out how he could get some film review assignments. As he told me later, somebody informed him, โ€œLisa Jensen would have to die.โ€ When Siskel and Ebert were all the rage, I appeared on a similar movie review program with fellow critic Rick Chatenever, then at the Sentinel, on local TV station KRUZ. One early evening, as I emerged from a screening at a downtown theater and started walking past the folks lined up for the next show, an older woman I didnโ€™t personally know broke into a merry grin as I went by. โ€œItโ€™s our movie girl!โ€ she cried. 

During a few flush years, I wrote two reviews a week, and sometimes three, if this or that indulgent editor could figure out how to lay them all out on the same page. For a couple of years, early in the Millennium, when Greg Archer was our fearless leader, I also wrote a bi-weekly opinion column about any damn thing I wanted, which I loved.

True, there have been times when I flirted with the possibility of retiring from the fray. The closest I came was after my first novel was published in 2001. The dangling carrot of writing fiction full-time, without having to stop and expend brain cells on a movie review every week, was tempting. After all, Art Boy had given up the comic book store to pursue art full-time, and boy, did he love it! Still, itโ€™s just as well that I didnโ€™t follow that carrot off a cliff since it took another 13 years to publish my next novel!

But now that I am actually 80 years old (well, not literally, but you get the idea), I find myself at a crossroads. Covid has wrought havoc in all facets of the movie business: productions have been halted, release dates postponed, and movie theaters closed. Even now that most theaters have reopened, many new movies are being released directly into the privacy of viewersโ€™ homes, either within weeks of their big screen debuts or bypassing theaters altogether for streaming platforms. Direct-to-streaming has become (yet another) new normal.

Locally, the former Cinema 9, smack in the middle of Pacific Avenue downtown, closed for good mid-pandemic; that its parent chain, Regal Cinemas, decided to abandon its Santa Cruz venue had an extra ominous ring of finality to it. It has reopened, phoenix-like, as the locally-operated Santa Cruz Cinema and the Cinelux theaters at 41st Avenue and Scotts Valley have raised the curtain again. But while the venerable Del Mar downtown, in all its 1936 movie-palace glory, is showing movies again, its sister venue, the beloved Nickelodeon, remains dark. After almost 60 years of local ownership as a treasure of adventurous art house cinema, its current parent company, Landmark Cinemas, has it up for sale.

Now I wonder what will the future of movie theaters even looks like. Millennials are suspicious of anything that takes them out of their comfort zones, like driving (hence Google buses and Uber). They may not have yet developed the habit of congregating with their fellow humans in a public space with a big screen; theyโ€™d just as soon watch movies on their phones. 

Meanwhile, I know plenty of people in my age group (the Stone Age) who had long since given up movies in public for Netflix et al., even before the pandemic. Trying to stay au courant, I did review a few new movies on streaming platforms, but the sheer enormity of product was overwhelming; instead of a handful of new films to cover on local screens, there were hundreds of titles on dozens of platforms. Meanwhile, the space allocated to film in the paper shrank to almost nothing as Good Times zeroed in on supporting and promoting local businesses that were still open to some degree and available to our local readership, like restaurants, bookstores and farmers markets.

So, is this my cue to exit stage left?

We canโ€™t know what the future will bring. If vaccinations keep pace with each aggressive new Covid variant, the public may be lured back to the movies again. Perhaps Iโ€™ll finally have new stuff to post on my Rotten Tomatoes page! Maybe Iโ€™ll still dabble in the occasional review if thereโ€™s something I really donโ€™t want you to miss.

But in the meantime, treasured readers, know this: It has been my very great pleasure to be your movie girl for all these years. This community of dedicated, opinionated and unrepentant movie fans means the world to me.

Thanks for all your support, your encouragement and your letters, even when you disagreed with me. In the early days, my favorite was the reader who objected to โ€œthe jejune jottings of Ms. Jensen.โ€ Fair enoughโ€”you canโ€™t get much more jejune than age 23! (I got betterโ€”I hope.)

But mostly, as always, thanks for reading.

Road Trip: Hwy 1 Project Kicks Off

A group of local officials and community members gathered under a small mid-county parking lot located near Hwy 1 Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the groundbreaking of a massive construction project. The multi-million dollar project is expected to transform the corridor and revolutionize travel countywide.

Construction on phase 1 of the Watsonvilleโ€“Santa Cruz Multimodal Corridor Program is set to begin this week. It includes widening Hwy 1 and laying the groundwork for the bus-on-shoulder lanes from 41st Ave. to Soquel Drive.

The project also includes a bicycle and pedestrian bridge at Chanticleer Ave.

An artist’s drawing shows what a new pedestal/bicycle over crossing to Hwy 1 at Chanticleer Ave. in Live Oak would look like.

Phase 1 is the start of a $100 million program that will make similar upgrades along the busy highway, which moves some 100,000 people per day.

Phase 2 will stretch from the Bay/Porter exit to State Park Drive, while Phase 3 will run from State Park Drive to Freedom Blvd.

The long-awaited project is expected to ease traffic on Hwy 1, encourage ridership of the countyโ€™s public transportation system and reduce greenhouse gas output.

โ€œThis has been a long time coming,โ€ said Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission Executive Director Guy Preston. โ€œItโ€™s a monumental effort, and we have so many more projects coming after it.โ€

All three phases include bicycle and pedestrian bridges. They also include a bus-on-shoulder lane along Hwy 1, which keeps buses separate from personal vehicles, allowing traffic to move more quickly.

METRO CEO Michael Tree said that the agency aims to increase ridership to 7 million per year and to purchase a fleet of zero-emission buses.

In addition, Soquel Drive will also see improvements such as traffic signal upgrades and buffered bike lanes.

Santa Cruz County Supervisor Board Chair Manu Koenig said he has heard many constituents ask when the county will fix the highway.

โ€œWell, here we are, finally doing just that,โ€ he said. โ€œThis is truly a fantastic transportation project and itโ€™s thinking about our transportation facilities in a new way.” 

โ€œThis truly is a linchpin for transportation in our community,โ€ Koenig said. โ€œIf youโ€™re driving north, you get stuck here. If youโ€™re driving south, you get stuck here. So this project will improve flow through the heart of our community, the middle of our county. Itโ€™s going to help people going in both directions.โ€

Capitola Vice-Mayor Kristen Brown, who also serves as vice-chair for both Santa Cruz METRO and the County Regional Transportation Commission, said her positions give her a unique perspective on the benefits the highway improvements will have for the community.

โ€œThese projects will bring about substantial improvements in traffic and safety operations, reduce cut-through traffic on our local streets and neighborhoodsโ€“which is something that has been happening in Capitola for quite some timeโ€“and enhance bicycle and pedestrian safety for active transportation users.โ€

โ€ขโ€ขโ€ข

Funding for Phase 1:

$3.3 million from Measure D

$35.3 million from various sources: the State Transportation Improvement Program, Senate Bill 1 and the Cal Trans Highway Infrastructure Program.

New Bill Would Help Undocumented Disaster Victims

Three California assembly members on Tuesday introduced a newly minted bill which, if it becomes law, would bring financial assistance to storm and flood victims who are ineligible for state and federal assistance.

Assembly Bill 513, also known as the California Individual Assistance Act, was authored by Assembly members Freddie Rodriguez and Robert Rivas, and co-sponsored by Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria.

Introduced April 10, the bill aims to provide relief to residents who are ineligible for government assistance because of their immigration status, a group made up largely of farmworkers.

โ€œAt the end of the day, these workers are essential workers as we designated during Covid, and so we should be treating them as such,โ€ Soria said during a brief press conference.

The bill on Monday passed unanimously out of the Assembly Committee on Emergency Management, the first step in a multi-week process that will likely include several subcommittees in both Assembly and Senate.

It has been given an urgency clause, however, meaning it would take effect soon after Gov. Gavin Newson signs it, as opposed to Jan. 1 of the following year. 

If approved, it would be administered by the California Office of Emergency Services.

That agency would provide funds to local agencies and nonprofits for repairs that are not covered by insurance or by governmental financial assistance programs.

Rodriguez said that aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) remains out of reach for many of the people affected by the series of winter storms and flooding.

โ€œAll too often, FEMA and CAL OES have been unable to provide assistance to the most vulnerable communities when the disaster survivors have few paths to recovery,โ€ he said.

In a letter to Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Zoe Lofgren, a group of elected and nonprofit leaders called the situation in Pajaro Valley a โ€œhumanitarian crisisโ€ and asked for the lawmakersโ€™ help in keeping the residents and businesses afloat.

An estimated 1,500 families are out of work because of damage to local fields. According to the letter, many of these people are now homeless because of the recent flooding. 

Rivas said the proposed law would give the state โ€œanother toolโ€ in helping people affected by natural disasters.

โ€œA tool for the state to use to assist communities that are devastated by major disaster events like flooding, wildfires and many others,โ€ he said. 

The bill would be retroactive to 2022 disasters, including the Dec, 20 6.4-magnitude earthquake in Humboldt County, and storms from Dec. 27-Jan. 31.

The legislation is all the more important, Rivas said, as climate change is expected to bring increasing numbers of natural disasters.

โ€œItโ€™s clear that we must do everything in our power here in California, at the state level, at the local level, to help affected communities recover and rebuild,โ€ Rivas said. 

Opinion: Let it Be

EDITOR’S NOTE

โ€œHappiness is a Warm Gunโ€ is my favorite Beatles song. It might be my favorite song of all time. In less than three minutes, you get three distinct sectionsโ€”each could work as its own song, opening with a nitrous oxide daydream that sounds like it was plucked from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The tune closes with a 1950s doo-wop-flavored sexual innuendo with a chorus of โ€œbang bang shoot shoot.โ€ โ€œHappiness is a Warm Gunโ€ never gets old and makes me happy whenever I hear it. Itโ€™s the perfect introductory ambassador for the Beatles White Album, a scattered musical collage that shouldnโ€™t make sense. From the childrenโ€™s cowboy sing-along โ€œThe Continuing Story of Bungalow Billโ€ to the prepunk screecher โ€œHelter Skelter,โ€ the Fab Fourโ€™s 93-minute creative melting pot is an unsolvable riddle. 

Maybe thatโ€™s why 20 years ago, a group of local professional musicians, including Dale Ockerman, Ken Kraft and Richard Bryant, were determined to learn every tone, mismatched rhythm and abrupt chord change spanning the White Albumโ€™s 30 tracks. It was a challenging archeological dig that took over half a year. They pulled it off live in front of an audienceโ€”several timesโ€”with an eight-piece band and other iterations, including collaborations with complete symphonies and orchestras. Iโ€™m not sure if the Beatles themselves would have been able to do it without a lot of assistance. The White Album Ensemble went on to do the same thing with all the Beatlesโ€™ post-1966 work. This rotating collective of musicians is not just another cover band or tribute; these are musical anthropologists who have dedicated two decades to sharing their love of the Beatles with the community. By now, every music fan in the region knows WAE. And everyone knows they are guaranteed to have a good time if they attend their shows, which is why every concert is a sell-out.

The two upcoming shows at the Rio Theatreโ€”where WAE debuted in 2003โ€”will mark the end for WAE, but Ockerman isnโ€™t bummed. He notes that the best time to say goodbye is when youโ€™re at the top of your game because thatโ€™s how youโ€™ll be remembered. As the Beatles song goes, โ€œAnd in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.โ€In addition to the WAE cover story, make sure you check out Aiyana Moyaโ€™s Earth Day storyโ€”Santa Cruz is going big this year. Also, Thursday is 420. You know what that means! Get the lowdown from Hugh McCormick on all the dispensary festivities throughout Santa Cruz County.

Adam Joseph | Interim Editor


ONLINE COMMENTS

RE: ROB BREZSNY MUSES ON NEW BOOK AND SANTA CRUZ BEGINNINGS

Hi Rob, we met briefly decades ago when a friend lived with you in Marin. My partner, Doug, and I now live on a small Portuguese island in the Madeira archipelago off the coast of Africa. Day after day, I am grateful for your โ€œfriendshipโ€ on this often contentious Book of Faces, as I also am a devotee of chronic ecstatic states. I feel that through this connection, I can float with and dive into the most inspiring insights as if we were still living in Santa Cruz or San Francisco from our peaceful, gorgeous island on the other side of the planet. โ€”Beverly Frederick

Hi Rob! As I read the excerpts of the interview, along with similarities with Buddhism, I couldnโ€™t help seeing how similar some things you say are to what St. Francis of Assisi also believed. It is just more evidence that human-made โ€œreligionsโ€ are exactly that: made by humans, and that REAL reality is so much more, and so much more AWESOME (in the original definition of the word!) than we can ever imagine! Thank you for being YOU! โ€”Leon


PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

Cement Ship Pier
The Cement Ship Pier nears final demolition at Seacliff State Beach on April 2, 2023. Photograph by Kim Steinhardt.

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GOOD IDEA

Library week is almost upon us, and Santa Cruz Public Libraries will join the celebrations. Yes, libraries offer a wealth of books, but it doesnโ€™t stop there: our libraries hold weekly game nights, book clubs, movie nights and more. And did you know that they offer streaming services and audiobooks? Stop by one of your local libraries from April 23-29 to partake in library week and see what your library offers. santacruzpl.org


GOOD WORK

The opioid epidemic is a nationwide crisis, and youth are increasingly vulnerable to overdoses. To try and give people the tools they need to prevent overdoses and save lives, SafeRx Santa Cruz County, the Santa Cruz County Office of Education and partners are hosting a Drive-Thru Naloxone (NarcanR) event this Saturday, April 22. Teen opioid overdoses have tripled nationally in the past two years, and NarcanR is an opioid overdose reversal tool. hipscc.org/saferx


QUOTE OF THE WEEK

โ€œEach song they brought to me was a gem. Iโ€™d say to them, โ€˜Thatโ€™s great, now give me a better one.โ€™ And they did.

โ€”George Martin

Letter to the Editor: Shout Out

One of the unsung heroes of the effort to save Watsonville Hospital is outgoing CEO Steven Salyer. While the public was focused on the successful campaigns for emergency legislation, a bankruptcy court bid and raising the $65 million necessary for the sale, CEO Salyer was an effective behind-the-scenes partner.

As CEO, Salyer made sure there was financial transparency, worked to keep staff members from leaving, helped set up the new board and, after the transfer, he renegotiated provider agreements to help move the hospital toward the sustainability it is on path to achieving. He has been a true leader.

I am sad that he is leaving. But I have a mother who is on the verge of her 99th birthday, and I understand the tug of family needs that must be his first priority.

I did not want Salyerโ€™s service to end without calling out his amazing role. He will be missed, but the results of his leadership will be appreciated by Pajaro Valley residents for years to come.


John Laird | State Senator, 17th District


These letters do not necessarily reflect the views of Good Times.To submit a letter to the editor of Good Times: Letters should be originalsโ€”not copies of letters sent to other publications. Please include your name and email address to help us verify your submission (email address will not be published). Please be brief. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and to correct factual inaccuracies known to us. Send letters to le*****@*******es.sc

Things to Do in Santa Cruz: April 19-25

ARTS AND MUSIC

DUSTBOWL REVIVAL WITH GA-20 After spending years on the road, Dustbowl Revival never stopped making their joyful, booty-shaking soul songs and cut-to-heart folk-rock ballads that lift their transcendent live shows. After celebrating over a decade of sonic adventuring, playing thousands of shows in 10 countries and counting, the group collected a devoted fanbase coast-to-coast. After throwing five of their own virtual Sway-At-Home festivals during the shut-down, featuring nearly forty artists, the constantly evolving group of string and brass players led by founding members Z. Lupetin, Josh Heffernan and Ulf Bjorlin are excited to welcome a new wave of talent to the band, after emerging from a pandemic touring hiatus. $25/$30 plus fees. Thursday, April 20, 9pm. Moeโ€™s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. moesalley.com

COCO MONTOYA In a career that spans almost four decades, Montoya has gone from drumming for blues icon Albert Collins to holding the lead guitar spot in John Mayallโ€™s Bluesbreakers to leading his own band and touring worldwide. Coco Montoyaโ€™s fifth Alligator album, Coming In Hot, is full of everything that has made Coco an international blues iconโ€”soaring, searing guitar, rich, soulful vocals and songs that combine power and intensity with eloquence and melodicism. The tracks range from blistering, hard-rocking blues to potent shuffles to fervent, moving ballads. Montoyaโ€™s unpredictable guitar playing and soulful vocals blend seamlessly with a backing band featuring bassists Bob Glaub (Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Jerry Lee Lewis) and Mike Mennell (Jimmy Buffett, John Fogerty), keyboardist Mike Finnigan (Jimi Hendrix, Etta James, Taj Mahal), rhythm guitarists Billy Watts (Eric Burdon) and Johnny Lee Schell (Bonnie Raitt) and drummer Tony Braunagel. $25/$29 plus fees. Thursday, April 20, 8pm. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. feltonmusichall.com

LARRY & JOE Larry & Joe is the duo of Joropo maestro Larry Bellorรญn (Monagas, Venezuela) and Grammy-nominated bluegrass and old-time star Joe Troop (Winston-Salem, North Carolina). These two virtuosic multi-instrumentalists fuse their respective Venezuelan and Appalachian folk traditions on the harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, upright bass, guitar and maracas to prove that music has no borders. Based in the Triangle of North Carolina, both men are versatile multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters on a mission to show that music has no boundaries. The bilingual program features a distinct blend of their musical inheritances and traditions, and storytelling about how music and social movements coalesce. โ€‹$27/$42. Friday, April 21, 7:30pm. Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. kuumbwajazz.org

THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS After finally being in the same room for the first time in six months, the Infamous Stringdusters seized the moment for their revealing new album, Toward the Fray. Inspired by self-reflection and a strong sense of solidarity, the project documents the Grammy Award-winning groupโ€™s remarkable growth as instrumentalists and songwriters. Released on their label, Americana Vibes, the collection firmly establishes the bandโ€™s stature in the modern acoustic music landscape. Theyโ€™ve built a solid and enduring fan base among traditional and progressive audiences. Travis Book (bass), Andy Falco (guitar), Jeremy Garrett (fiddle), Andy Hall (Dobro) and Chris Pandolfi (banjo) wrote the songs on Toward the Fray separately, sending simple phone demos to each other during lockdown. Fueled by friendship and a mastery of their instruments, the 13-track collection feels live, but not necessarily loose, due to a synergy developed over the last 16 years of playing sheds, clubs and festival stages nationwide. $40/$44 plus fees. Saturday, April 22, 9pm. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. feltonmusichall.com

SEIZED UP WITH WESTERN ADDICTION AND THE VAXXINES Santa Cruzโ€™s beloved Seized Up erupted as a loud blur, courtesy of Blโ€™ast singer Clifford Dinsmore, Fast Asleep guitarist Danny B., Good Riddance bassist Chuck Platt and the Distillers/Nerve Agents drummer Andy Granelli. The supergroup was inspired after Fast Asleep had stopped performing, and Dinsmore was eager to start something new with the guys, knowing it would be a great mix. A flashback of what all members are into, and thatโ€™s driving hardcore punk. Seized Up worked with Paul Miner at Buzzbomb Recording to record 11 songs for their full-length debut. People have demanded more since making their live debut in December 2019. Sometimes, wishes do come true. $15. Saturday, April 22, 8pm. The Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. thecrepeplace.com

โ€˜THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIMEโ€™ Based on Mark Haddonโ€™s acclaimed novel, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was originally adapted for the stage by Simon Stephens. The story follows Christopher, a young man with an extraordinary mind: he knows every prime number up to 7,057, every country and capital in the world and that yellow and brown are to be avoided like the plague. When someone murders his neighborโ€™s dog, Christopher is driven to discover the culprit. He embarks on an investigation that unwittingly uncovers family secrets that shatter his reality and launch him onto a path into the unknown. The original London and New York productions won multiple awards, including a Tony Award, Olivier Award, Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Circle Award and Drama League Awards. $19.50; $17.50/students. Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30pm; Sundays at 2pm through April 30. Black Box Theater (inside the Crocker Theater), Cabrillo College, 6500 Soquel Drive, Aptos. cabrillo.edu/vapa

POPPY CHAMPLIN WITH PATTI MAXINE Poppy Champlin has a career that spans three decades. Her television appearances on Oprah, Joan Rivers, Comics Unleashed, LOGO, Comedy Central and Showtime are proof of her hard work and longevity. She has opened for numerous comics on her climb to headlining. Rosie Oโ€™Donnell, Paula Poundstone, Bill Maher, Ray Romano, Caroline Rhea, Richard Belzer and Bruce Vilanch, just to name a few. Champlin is always full of hot topics, fresh perspectives and solid punchlines. As an openly gay comedian, Champlin says she can now talk honestly about her relationships with women, but since she is not in one at the moment, sheโ€™s not focusing on that. Joining Poppy is the incomparable lap steel virtuoso, Patti Maxine. $25 plus fees. Sunday, April 23, 5pm. Greater Purpose Brewing Company, 21517 E. Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz. theneighborspub.org/events

TECH N9NE WITH KUNG FU VAMPIRE Rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, actor and entrepreneur, Tech N9ne does it all. In 1999, he and business partner Travis O’Guin founded the record label Strange Music. He has sold over two million albums and featured his music in film, television and video games. In 2009, he won the Left Field Woodie Award at the mtvU Woodie Awards. His stage name originated from the TEC-9 semi-automatic handgun, a name given to him by rapper Black Walt due to his fast-rhyming Chopper style. Yates later applied a deeper meaning to the name, claiming that it stands for the complete technique of rhyme, with “tech” meaning technique and “nine” representing the number of completions. San Joseโ€™s Kung Fu Vampire began breakdancing at six and taught himself to rap and sing as a hobby. At 12, his aunt began taking him to see concerts and introduced him to a goth. He never looked back. $37/$42 plus fees. Sunday, April 23, 9pm. The Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. catalystclub.com

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Rob Brezsnyโ€™s Astrology: April 26-May 2

Astrology, Horoscope, Stars, Zodiac Signs
Free will astrology for the week of April 26

Alderwood Pacificโ€™s Apps and Cocktail Program are a Perfect Pairing

Alderwood Pacific Santa Cruz
The spacious restaurant is a popular Santa Cruz gathering spot for all

Indulge in the Luxury of Bernardus 2021 Pinot Noir

Bernardus Winery Carmel Valley
Exploring the hidden gems of Carmel Valley

Castagnola’s Deli & Cafรฉ Delivers Quality and Affordability in Capitola

Castagnola's Deli & Cafe
Castagnola's offers gourmet deli meals for ten bucks or less

Lisa Jensen Reflects on Her Careerโ€”and the Future of Moviegoing

Lisa Jensen GT 30th Anniversary Issue
Forty-six years after her first review was published in โ€˜Good Times,โ€™ film critic Lisa Jensen has reached a โ€˜crossroadsโ€™

Road Trip: Hwy 1 Project Kicks Off

Construction on phase 1 of the Watsonvilleโ€“Santa Cruz Multimodal Corridor Program is set to begin this week.

New Bill Would Help Undocumented Disaster Victims

The bill would provide aid to flood victims unqualified to receive federal funds.

Opinion: Let it Be

White Album Ensemble rehearsal
The White Album Ensemble goes out with a Beatles bang

Letter to the Editor: Shout Out

Watsonville Community Hospital
A letter to the editor of Good Times

Things to Do in Santa Cruz: April 19-25

Larry & Joe
The Infamous Stringdusters, Seized Up, Tech N9ne and More
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