Page 275 | Good Times

Big Basin Vineyards’ 2018 Homestead is a Festival of Flavors

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February 21, 2023

Big Basin Vineyards’ 2018 Homestead is a Festival of Flavors

Blending several varietals might sound simple, but it takes a masterful winemaker to get it just right.

Big Basin Vineyards has nailed it with its 2018 Homestead ($28). A blend of 33% Carignane, 25% Syrah, 21% Grenache, 19% Mourvèdre and 2% Cabernet Sauvignon, it’s a big mouthful of tasty wine with spice-and-red-fruit-flavored Carignane leading the pack.

“Our Homestead represents the extraordinary granitic and limestone terroir of the Gabilan Mountains where we sourced the majority of the fruit,” winery owner Bradley Brown says. Homestead features several well-known vineyards in the area—Big Basin’s estate provides “the backbone.” An area map on the bottle’s back label shows each vineyard source in the Santa Cruz Mountains. And the front label depicts a California homestead, complete with a dog, rifle, banjo and rocking chair, painted by local artist Matt Jones. Visit mattjonesart.com to see other labels he designed for Big Basin.

Big Basin’s Feb. 24 Coastal Wine Dinner has already sold out. Make sure you get tickets early for 2024.

Big Basin Vineyards Santa Cruz Tasting Room & Wine Bar, 525 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz; 831-515-7278; bigbasinvineyards.com

Big Basin Vineyards Olive Oil

Also at Big Basin Vineyards is their 100% organic, extra virgin, cold-processed olive oil—now available for sale. “After two years lost to fires and recovery, our estate olive oil is back,” says Brown, adding that nothing captures the freshness of the olive harvest like their Olio Nuovo, “new oil.” Electric green-gold in color with aromas of artichoke and grass, it has a “very nice balance between pungency, richness and softness.” A limited amount was made, so check the website for info.

El Toro Bravo Rocks Sizzling Enchiladas

Andrew Steingrube

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February 21, 2023

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Hillary Guzman’s grandma Delia Rey opened El Toro Bravo in 1967, and Hillary started working there in 1999 temporarily but decided to stay when her father moved away. She says the restaurant is treated like a family member and emits a friendly vibe. Guzman defines the cuisine as traditional northern Mexican food. The menu masterpiece is the enchilada sauce: comforting, like a scratch-made gravy, locals rave about it. Enchilada filling options include ground beef, shredded chicken, prawns or crab grilled in lemon garlic butter. The tender and lean beef chili verde is another stand-out. The grilled cod soft taco is a good lighter option.

Meanwhile, the 222 app comes with six oysters prepared three ways: chorizo and cheese, spinach and cheese and lemon garlic butter and cheese. The dessert must-have is the sopapilla, a fried flour tortilla with cinnamon, sugar, vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. El Toro is open daily, 11:30am-9pm. Guzman talked to GT about her family’s resilience in the recent storms.

How did the storm affect the business?

HILLARY GUZMAN: We were affected in multiple ways. Financially, it set us back. We lost a lot of product and several business days, and our family did the clean-up ourselves. But most importantly, it was saddening to see our neighboring businesses affected too because, to us, they’re not just businesses; they are our personal friends. But we are a tight community, and I’m very optimistic we will rebuild and succeed.

How would you describe your family legacy?

We are not going anywhere; we are into our fourth family generation running this restaurant. We are the longest continually operating restaurant in the Capitola Village, and we have no plans on quitting. We come from a long line of stubborn, hard-working women. El Toro Bravo means “brave bull,” and that is us.

El Toro Bravo, 123 Monterey Ave., Capitola, 831-476-1553; eltorobravocapitola.com

Cabrillo College Baseball Preview

Local News

Quinn Southall

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February 21, 2023

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The Cabrillo College baseball team began its season under a new era of coaching that prioritizes individual development for the team’s betterment.

Seahawks manager Scott Masik fiercely stands behind the team motto: “1% better, every day.”

The first-year skipper made this his mission since taking over for longtime manager Bob Kittle, who did not return this season.

Masik signed with the Oakland Athletics after playing for Cabrillo in 2010 and 2011.

“Coming back here is an awesome opportunity because I’ve played on this field, and I know what it means to be a Cabrillo Seahawk,” he says.

Masik knows what it takes to build a winning team.

The Seahawks’ season got off to a rough start, as they won just three of their first nine games, including a 21-5 loss to San Joaquin Delta College.

Twenty-five of the 40 Seahawks are freshmen who are still adjusting to the vigor of college baseball, so the organization was prepared for the slow start.

“We’re a young coaching staff; we have a relatively young team,” Masik says. “We are trying to figure out how to win.”

Cabrillo’s roster has 13 players from high schools in Monterey Bay, but the rest are new to the area and traveled from as far as Hawaii. It’s a testament to the extensive recruiting process exhibited by all major Cabrillo sports—the basketball team has only one local player.

The Seahawks’ season is just ramping up, but it’s already clear they have considerable talent on their roster. Catcher Kawana Soares and pitcher Ian Sullivan—both sophomores with scholarships through next season—are team leaders and are here to ensure they win.

While Cabrillo lost its first four before winning three consecutive games, followed by another two losses, the Seahawks are confident they will figure things out as the season progresses.

Some positive takeaways early on include a dominant 10-3 victory against Laney College, a tough competitor.

“We know that coming into the season, it was going to be a tough stretch,” Soares says.

Last season, Cabrillo finished a mediocre 19-21 overall and 11-9 in Coast Conference South Division play.

During the offseason, the Seahawks worked tirelessly in the weight room to ensure each player was physically prepared for the intensity of the 40-game season.

“Every day is not going to be the best day of your life,” Masik says. “Baseball is a game of failure and adversity. We have a team who tries to take one step in the right direction every day.”

The focus has been on developing team chemistry—teammates have bonded through participating in non-baseball activities, like cheering for their Cabrillo peers at football and basketball games.

Following the losing streak, the team was more aware of the necessary adjustments.

“Our bats in the beginning, everyone was anxious; everyone was trying to swing the bat hard,” Soares says. “That was what kind of killed us; we didn’t have a lot of hits in our first couple of games.”

The modifications paid off, and Cabrillo went on a winning streak. The Seahawks began hitting their stride before two losses to San Joaquin Delta (10-0). But there’s a lot of time to figure things out, and progress is being made: Cabrillo (4-6) bounced back in extra innings with an 8-7 win over Diablo Valley College on Feb. 18.

“We’re taking this one game at a time,” Masik says.

Next, the Seahawks play West Valley College (3-7) on Saturday at 1pm in Santa Clara.

Community Bids Farewell to Seacliff State Beach Wharf

Todd Guild

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February 20, 2023

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Community Bids Farewell to Seacliff State Beach Wharf

Expecting a large crowd for a beach cleanup at Seacliff State Beach on Saturday, Save Our Shores printed 250 waivers for volunteers to sign before they got to work.

While that may have been enough for a run-of-the-mill beach cleanup, this was no ordinary event. Over a thousand people came to clean the beach and say goodbye to the wharf that once led to the Cement Ship but was decimated by a series of atmospheric river storms and a tidal swell in January.

It is unclear whether the pier will be rebuilt. Still, California State Parks has said it plans to use its limited financial resources to rebuild the damaged campground and other infrastructure.

Demolition is expected to begin this week.

Lu Robles-Sane, who came with her niece, says she originally moved to the area with her husband. After his death, strolls onto the pier and sitting on the benches have helped her through difficult times.

“I love it out here,” she says. “This is where I find my serenity.”

Robles-Sane’s niece Madison says that her brother used to go fishing on the wharf and that her great-grandmother told her about dances on the Cement Ship, which was intact and served as a local entertainment spot.

Ayla Urquhart, who says she is “basically 9-and-three-quarters,” pins a memory of the Seacliff Wharf onto a piece of driftwood. PHOTO: Todd Guild

Zina Urquhart said she and her daughter Ayla came to celebrate the Wharf.

“It’s really sad,” Zina says. “It’s been here for a long time, and it’s an icon.”

Capitola Hosts Benefit Concert

Local News

Todd Guild

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February 17, 2023

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The City of Capitola is hosting a concert to raise money for those impacted by the series of storms that ravaged the county in January.

The “Beyond the Flood” benefit concert will feature Jive Machine, the Alex Lucero Band and Joint Chiefs with Tony Lindsay. The concert is free, but proceeds from beer sales and T-shirts will go to Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, an organization that has already issued $510,000 in disaster grants.

The January storms caused millions of dollars of damage to the Esplanade. Capitola Mayor Margaux Keiser has estimated the damage to the Village at $2.6 million, with repairs to the Capitola Wharf clocking in at roughly $9 million.

The stunning damage to the village, in which the Wharf was cleaved in half and beach logs were slammed into Zeldas on the Beach and Tacos Morenos, prompted visits from President Joe Biden, Gov. Gavin Newsom and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis.

Capitola Police Chief Andrew Dally said the idea for the concert came after a community beach cleanup that helped clear the beaches of the wreckage from the storms.

“There was just a lot of talk about what’s the next thing we can do,” he said. “It was really apparent that a lot of people in the community really wanted to step up and help with this.”

The public is encouraged to find alternatives to driving to get to the event, since parking is limited. A bicycle lot will be available.

Important Information:

What: “Beyond the Flood” concert

When: 12-6pm, Saturday

Where: at the Esplanade Park bandstand in Capitola

Schedule: Jive Machine – 12-1:30pm, Alex Lucero Band – 2-3:30pm, Joint Chiefs with Tony Lindsay – 4-6pm

Caltrans Blamed for Highway 9 Death

Local News

Drew Penner

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February 16, 2023

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On Wednesday, attorneys made closing arguments for a $72 million lawsuit against the California Department of Transportation that seeks to hold the agency partially responsible for the death of a pedestrian along Hwy 9 in the Felton area.

Attorney Dana Scruggs told the 12-person jury in the Santa Cruz County Superior Court that Caltrans’ failure to improve the section of road north of downtown led to the death of 22-year-old Josh Howard.

He asked the jury to assign 75% of the blame for Howard’s Feb. 2019 death to Caltrans and 25% to Jeremy Shreves, the motorist who was convicted of felony reckless driving in the crash.

The first question that jurors will face as they deliberate the suit brought by the victim’s parents, Kelley Howard and Dimitri Jaumoville: “Was Hwy 9 in a dangerous condition at the location of the subject accident?”

Scruggs said Caltrans knew the road was substandard and ignored the issue.

“If they’d fixed the road, it wouldn’t have happened,” Scruggs said.

Shelby Davitt, an attorney for Caltrans, said there’s only one person to blame for Howard’s death: Shreves.

“He shouldn’t have drifted towards that edge line,” she said. “He didn’t turn his wheel.”

She clicked to a screen with a giant blue “0” on it, indicating no pedestrian accidents had occurred there prior to Howard’s death.

“This area is safe when using reasonable care,” she said. “There’s no dangerous conditions at this location—the alleged dangerous condition was the narrow shoulder, but the shoulder does not create a substantial risk of injury.”

Davitt also said Caltrans wasn’t provided with any specific “notice” that Highway 9 could be a serious problem in that spot.

“There’s no accident history here,” she said. “Generally complaining about the road is not notice.”

She called the proposed $72 million in damages a “ridiculous” figure “pulled out of thin air.” Instead, she said, the jury could come up with a figure by adding up several different items meant to bring the family joy in memory of Howard.

One of the options she thought of was to provide 21 of the man’s peers with passes to Roaring Camp Railroad; another was making a donation to an animal shelter, since Howard loved cats.

She suggested $1 million might be a more reasonable sum.

Closing arguments are set to continue on Thursday.

Things to Do in Santa Cruz: Feb. 15-21

GT Staff

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February 15, 2023

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ARTS AND MUSIC

JUNGLE BROTHERS WITH WATZREAL AND KHAN Mike Gee (Michael Small), DJ Sammy B (Sammy Burwell) and Baby Bam (Nathaniel Hall) formed the Jungle Brothers in the mid-1980s in New York City. The result of one of their earliest sessions, Straight Out the Jungle, was released in early 1988. The album’s far-out cut “I’ll House You” is a collaboration with producer Todd Terry and an early experiment in what later became “hip-house.” The album’s Afrocentric slant propelled the Jungle Brothers’ entry into the Native Tongue Posse, a loose collective formed by hip-hop legend Afrikaa Bambaataa, which included Queen Latifah (and, later, De La Soul and A Tribe Called Quest). Although they predated De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest and Digable Planets, the Jungle Brothers didn’t score mainstream notoriety—some believe they were ahead of their time. The trio implemented a rich combination of house music, Afrocentric philosophy, funk and jazz. While the group’s 1989 Done by the Forces of Nature didn’t quite blow up on the pop charts, many still regard it as a hip-hop classic. $22.50/$25 plus fees. Wednesday, Feb. 15, 9pm. The Catalyst Atrium, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. catalystclub.com

PIMPS OF JOYTIME WITH BLACK JOE LEWIS Brian J has produced albums for New Orleans heavyweights, including Cyril Neville (the Neville Brothers), James Andrews and Corey Henry (Galactic), plus Bernard “Pretty” Purdie and Cedric Burnside. Brian J’s band, the Pimps of Joytime, has released five studio albums and toured expansively, building a worldwide following. On the production of “La Vida,” Brian J plays all the instruments, flexing his skills as a multi-instrumentalist and producer. Meanwhile, when Joe Lewis and his band, the Honeybears, popped onto the national stage more than 10 years ago, many critics embraced him, but still, some maintained that the group needed more experience. “The dues of hard work, the delirious heights of the industry, disappointments and low-hanging fruit. Through this all, Lewis has only honed his mastery over gutbucket blues guitar” and his authentic voice. $27/$32 plus fees. Friday, Feb. 17, 9pm. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. moesalley.com

KANDACE SPRINGS “My father used to play me records when I was young, and I fell in love right away with all these great singers,” says Kandace Springs. “I learned to do what I do by singing along with them. Ever since, I’ve wanted to pay that forward by reminding people of how great these ladies are; we all owe them so much.” The world-renowned Blue Note/Capitol recording artist’s latest album, released in March 2020, is her most personal work yet. Entitled The Women Who Raised Me, it is her loving tribute to the great female singers who inspired her to begin her journey toward becoming one of our time’s premier jazz and soul vocalists. The album will feature interpretations of songs she first heard in Tennessee, including classics by icons such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald and Carmen McRae to ’60s legends Nina Simone and Dusty Springfield and modern masters such as Sade and Lauryn Hill. Springs will be joined by bassist/vocalist Aneesa Strings and drummer/vocalist Taylor Moore. $47.25/$52.50; $26.25/students. Friday, Feb. 17, 7pm. Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. kuumbwajazz.org

CASS MCCOMBS + BAND WITH WEAK SIGNAL, Cass McCombs’ shades of frustration have fueled his music since he started. The approach has earned McCombs quiet acclaim over the years—in 2009, Catacombs was voted onto Pitchfork’s “50 Top Albums of the Year,” and the California native has toured with Arcade Fire, Band of Horses, Thurston Moore and the Meat Puppets. As an outsider voice for the marginalized, McCombs’ anti-establishment, indie rock roots extend back to 2003 when he first launched his website without mentioning his name or music. “We were very punk,” McCombs explains. “We wanted to destroy the music business —we didn’t want to have any promotional activity whatsoever. Everything was to be subversive.” The second song on McCombs’ 2022 Heartmind, his tenth record, “Karaoke,” is a “god-level burst of power-pop perfection,” as captivating as anything the musician has ever written. $22/$28 plus fees. Tuesday, Feb. 21, 8pm. Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy 9, Felton. folkyeah.com

BASS DRUM OF DEATH WITH H.A.R.D. Say I Won’t is the first Bass Drum of Death album written, demoed and recorded with a touring band. Previously, frontman John Barrett had been doing everything on his own. But Barrett found freedom in working with collaborators that weren’t available to him before, opening a diverse world of songwriting. There’s an energy and vitality to the music driven by an added boost from new bandmates and a new perspective. The live recording process features layers of multiple parts and overdubs, then stripping it back to the song’s bones, keeping the raw wild heart of the music intact. “My first two records were made entirely by me alone with my gear, my laptop and a Snowball USB mic,” Barrett says. “They were just made quickly, cheaply, as an excuse to tour. I wanted to take my time with this record. Make something good that I was proud of in itself.” $20/$25 plus fees. Tuesday, Feb. 21, 8pm. Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. moesalley.com

COMMUNITY

(RESCHEDULED FROM JAN. 28) MLK MARCH FOR THE DREAM This year marks the 60th anniversary of the 1963 march on Washington for jobs and justice; it’s also the anniversary of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Now, more than ever, we seek to uphold the dream of Dr. King in establishing a community that will ensure political, educational, social and economic equality of rights for all people and eliminate racial hatred and discrimination. Dr. King said, “The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” Following the march, the 11am presentation will feature a variety of speakers, including NAACP Santa Cruz County Branch President Elaine Johnson, Rev. Curtis Blue, Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley, renowned local gospel and jazz singer Tammi Brown, Santa Cruz County Supervisor Justin Cummings, Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin, Rabbi Paula Marcus of Temple Beth El and more. Keisha Browder, CEO of United Way of Santa Cruz County, will MC. All are invited to march and support the dream of Dr. King. Free. Monday, Feb. 20, 10am. Begins at Pacific Avenue and Cathcart Street to the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. naacpsantacruz.com

Submit upcoming events HERE

Pinderhughes and Loueke bring ‘A Diaspora Journey’ to Kuumbwa

Andrew Gilbert

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February 15, 2023

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Pinderhughes and Loueke bring ‘A Diaspora Journey’ to Kuumbwa

Creativity seems to bloom around Herbie Hancock, the legendary pianist, keyboardist and composer who’s been mapping new musical territory for six decades.

In the case of Berkeley-reared flutist/vocalist Elena Pinderhughes and Benin-born guitarist/vocalist Lionel Loueke, the seeds for their new suite A Diaspora Journey were planted on the road in Hancock’s band.

“Lionel and I have been playing together in Herbie’s group for years,” Pinderhughes says from her Los Angeles home. “We’d often spend downtime in rehearsals experimenting together—it was an idea in the back of our heads that we should do a project.”

When Kuumbwa approached Pinderhughes about submitting a grant to The Creative Work Fund, the 27-year-old immediately reached out to Loueke. A Diaspora Journey illuminates the rhythmic DNA that courses from West Africa and South America to the Caribbean and the U.S. The world premiere of their five-part suite at Kuumbwa features a stellar quintet powered by drummer Justin Tyson, electric bassist Burniss Travis, who also plays with the drummer in pianist Robert Glasper’s band. Elena’s older brother, acclaimed pianist/keyboardist Samora, rounds out the collective.

“A big part of A Diaspora Journey is the element of ritual, with chants and multiple people singing, but we’re not setting her words to music,” Pinderhughes says. “There are some lyric-based parts, but it’s not a narrative. The subject is vast, and there are so many stories within the ‘Diaspora,’ so we think it can be told from A to Z.

“It’s not a timeline-based thing or story,” she continues. “We’re trying to highlight the similarities between so many different people’s stories. A rhythm you thought came from Brazil, and it’s also in Barbados. There are these connections between Puerto Rico and Benin and Ghana, with these rhythms that come from the same family tree. Different parts of the suite highlight different types of music.”

In conjunction with Monday’s world premiere, Pinderhughes and Loueke will discuss the new work on Tuesday, Feb. 21, at Kuumbwa with Santa Cruz-based Speak For Change podcast host Thomas Sage Pederson, sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Black Health Matters Initiative.

In many ways, the 49-year-old Loueke hails from one of the Diaspora’s sources, as the tiny West African nation now known as Benin was for centuries a major point of embarkation for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. His music embodies a post-colonial journey that maps onto these deep historical fissures.

The third of five brothers, he was raised in an academic household where his father, a mathematics professor and his mother, a high school teacher, encouraged his creative pursuits. Musically precocious, he moved to the Ivory Coast in 1990 to study music at the National Institute of Art, where he soaked up the sounds of jazz guitar greats Wes Montgomery, Joe Pass and George Benson.

Loueke refined his playing during four years at the American School of Modern Music in Paris, eventually earning a scholarship to Boston’s Berklee College of Music. At Berklee, he realized that the traditional music he grew up playing in Benin and his passion for jazz was deeply enmeshed.

“I could combine all the different rhythms and the melodies I was playing back home with the harmonies I was studying,” he explains. “Before that, I never really saw that they were all related. It was almost like a puzzle and finding the last piece.”

In 2001, all the career pieces came together for Loueke when he was tapped for the elite master’s program at the Thelonious Monk Institute. By the end of the first year, he’d been recruited by trumpeter Terence Blanchard, and he’s been on the road ever since, touring the world with iconic jazz musicians like Hancock and Dave Holland and the late Chick Corea.

“I’m gravitating more toward my own music now, but then these guys are not going to be here forever,” Loueke says.

Pinderhughes is also focusing more on developing her original music than her sidewoman gigs. As she prepares to release a very different project focusing on her original songs, A Diaspora Journey marks her emergence as an up-and-coming composer in the jazz community.

“I’ve stepped back from a bunch of things, and I’ve been saying no to a bunch of one-offs,” she says. “I’m still working with Common, Herbie and Christian Scott. The three of them keep me pretty busy, and if my brother calls, I’m there. But I’m taking this year to finish my album.”

Elena Pinderhughes and Lionel Loueke perform Monday, Feb. 20, 7pm at Kuumbwa Jazz, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $36.75; $42.00; $21.00/students. kuumbwajazz.org

Opinion: It’s Crepe to be Alive

Adam Joseph

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February 15, 2023

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EDITOR’S NOTE

The first time I went to the Crepe Place was in 2009 to see Canadian heavy psych-rock outfit Black Mountain. A buddy and I got there early so we could have dinner first. Before we sat down, I took a self-guided tour.
“Something is missing,” I thought. I didn’t see anything that resembled a stage anywhere—not even a tiny platform tucked away in a corner.

“Yeah, the bands usually just play against the back wall,” my friend, who had seen shows there before, explained. It was challenging to imagine Black Mountain’s wall of sound unleashed within the confines of the Crepe Place—they had sold out the Fillmore a few nights before and had a growing fanbase. The capacity, which maxes out around 100, hit quickly, and the room vibrated in unison with the band—we stood face-to-face with the group, synchronized, on the same level. I was hooked.

J. Mascis, Father John Misty, Camper Van Beethoven, the Lumineers, Kurt Vile, Imagine Dragons and Real Estate are some of the many acts who have performed the venue over the last 25 years or so—some multiple times. Even the Crepe Place owner, Chuck Platt, plays bass for a popular Santa Cruz punk group, Good Riddance.
Along with a variety of innovative thin pancake concoctions like Crepe Gatsby (chicken with red pesto) and Banana Rama (Nutella-smothered bananas and vanilla ice cream) and a thoughtful craft cocktail program, music—and the people, including staff—seem to be the Crepe Place’s keys to surviving 50 years. When Mat Weir delved into the Crepe Place’s history, he was inundated with information—when something so adored has been around for 50 years, it’s bound to amass many stories and memories.

The bottom line—and Weir’s conclusion, if you want to call it that, is that there is no one reason for the Crepe Place’s ongoing success. “Bringing crepes to Santa Cruz? A local watering hole where you’re almost guaranteed to walk in and see a buddy or make a new friend? An intimate music venue with national headliners?” Weir writes with a rhetorical tone. The real question: Could you imagine Santa Cruz without the Crepe Place? I know I couldn’t.

In non-crepe-related news, Santa Cruz Burger Week giveaways are in full swing! It’s as simple as visiting the @santacruzrestaurantweek Facebook page and commenting on the day’s featured burger spot(s). If you comment, you could win a gift card. There are many tasty burgers to try throughout Santa Cruz County. Visit SCBW today and start working your way down the list.

Adam Joseph | Interim Editor

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

Gloves lined at Soquel High pre-spring training. Photograph by Ross Levoy.

Submit to ph****@*******es.sc. Include information (location, etc.) and your name. Photos may be cropped. Preferably, photos should be 4 inches by 4 inches and minimum 250dpi.

GOOD IDEA

Our local libraries have so much to offer. Now we can add backpacks filled with supplies for your next outdoor adventure to the list. California State Parks is partnering with REI Co-op to provide backpacks that will be available to library card holders that check out a California State Library Parks Pass. Backpacks will contain binoculars, a hand lens, a compass, various guidebooks and more. parks.ca.gov/30806

GOOD WORK

On Wednesday, Feb. 15, one of our favorite listener-supported community radio stations will celebrate an anniversary: KSQD 90.7 FM, fondly known as The Squid, is turning four years old. The birthday will be commemorated with special broadcasts and listener-submitted wishes. During an era of corporate-owned networks, community radio is more important than ever. Submit your shoutout, donate or just tune in at ksqd.org

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Live music is better.”
—Neil Young

Letter to the Editor: Let Love Rule

Cat Johnson

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February 15, 2023

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Santa Cruz Thread has been the downtown hub of organic body care since 2013. Their growing clientele are in for a real treat as they blossom into establishing a next-level presence on Fair Avenue, on the upper Westside. Established team estheticians, paired with the intimate business management of owner Karissa Cates, have made Santa Cruz Thread a five-star salon.

It only took me 30 years to find my way into an actual salon. At the time, I had just branched off into my own business as an independent marine service contractor focusing on small engine mechanics and custom boat lettering. I had particularly avoided such pampered treatment as an industrious single mother with a low-maintenance surfer-girl persona. I was curious and slightly desperate to try out the famed fad of eyebrow threading and bikini waxing. As a working woman with more engine grease on my fingers than jewelry, self-care was getting out of my weathered hands. I have returned to the sanctuary of body care through Santa Cruz Thread. Throughout the last decade, I have periodically sought my California endless summer Brazilian wax or cleaned up my brows, underarms and wild-mane hairline. I see the same women, not only Karissa, who is always a quick response to fit me in or pair treatment areas, but also her sister-like staff. It sounds so cliche to say, “we’ve laughed, we’ve cried,” but it couldn’t be closer to the whole truth.

As a committed patron, I had heard the discussions of their goals for relocation. Their Front Street main entrance had been one of several downtown locations impacted by break-ins. Unfortunately, many neighboring businesses have been forced to respond with increasing security. I enthusiastically offered to help contribute artwork to her new space. Months ensued before Karissa secured the Fair Avenue location. I was honored that she approached me, another mom, and fellow businesswoman as her consultant artist for interior design. After viewing the spacious layout illuminated by coveted natural lighting, right across from New Leaf and just behind Verve, I was absorbing all the warmth and fuzzies I can only Imagine Karissa herself must be feeling as a fully invested business owner. We are delighted to reveal the love and heart that has been invested into bringing Santa Cruz Thread to the Westside.

Liza Star, Local Artist

These letters do not necessarily reflect the views of Good Times.To submit a letter to the editor of Good Times: Letters should be originals—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

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Big Basin Vineyards’ 2018 Homestead is a Festival of Flavors