Scotts Valley is about to pop off with a scorching double bill featuring two of America’s finest performers, Nina Gerber and Grammy-nominated Bill Kirchen. This duo takes the stage at The Landing, Scotts Valley’s premier (and only) venue.
Axe-man Kirchen was highlighted by Guitar Player magazine as the “Titan of the Telecaster,” and is known throughout the musical world as one of the world’s finest Telecaster players.
Kirchen’s connection to the explosive late-1960s era of rock, in all its mutated forms, comes from his time as a core member of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen. Kirchen’s guitar solo on “Hot Rod Lincoln” is an iconic, more than memorable, celebration of having four wheels and going really, really fast.
Talking with Bill Kirchen is like getting a lesson in rock history. Raised in Ann Arbor, Michigan, during the tumultuous 1960s, Kirchen had a notable classmate while growing up.
“I was actually at the first Stooges show with Iggy Pop,” says the 78-year-old musician, from somewhere on the road, where he has been constantly touring for 60 years.
“I went to high school with him (Iggy Pop) when he was still Jim Osterberg. He may have been in high school bands before I was, because I did the high school talent show in 1965 and his band, The Iguanas, was playing. So was my band, which was called the Who Knows Pickers. It was a jug band. Later on, we both had bands in town. We actually tried to get him to be a drummer in my first band because he’s a great drummer, but he said, ‘No, I want to be a front man,’ which he was. That was right before he started the Stooges, and I was actually at his first Stooges show,” Kirchen recalls.
While the nascent fury of Iggy Pop hadn’t blossomed yet, the early 1960s in Ann Arbor had an active folk and jug band scene. “It was some of the coolest music. Dylan was the darling of the Newport Folk Festival, but it was the Jim Kweskin Jug Band in 1964 that were the biggest stars. They played all kinds of roots music from way back in the day. They even did a sort of Western swing, which we later played with Cody. Blues based and folk tradition based. They did it all. I don’t remember them writing any songs. They were basically literally a folk music group who mined songs. But they mined a really wide variety of stuff. And they were great too. Maria Muldaur was in it,” Kirchen remembers.
Kirchen is currently on tour promoting his latest album, Cat Out of the Bag. “For the last four weeks the album has been number one or two. And now it’s number one again on the Alt Country specialty chart. And it’s just entered the Americana charts. It just came in last week. I think at number 45. So I have a record actually moving up the charts, which is exciting for me,” says Kirchen.
Playing alongside Kirchen at this unique show is Nina Gerber, a lifelong Northern California resident who was born and raised in Sebastopol and still lives there, and has been involved in the West Coast acoustic music scene since the 1970s.
It was the much-revered Kate Wolf who recognized Gerber’s talent, and the two soon became collaborators. This rise in visibility made Gerber a sought-after guitarist, arranger, producer and accompanist who has worked with Dave Alvin, Peter Rowan, Laurie Lewis and many others.
“I love working,” says Gerber from her idyllic home in the fog-draped rolling hills of Sebastopol. “I take the work when it comes, and then there’s down times. Bill can get out and hustle because it’s his own name, so he can get out and work as much as he wants. I’m at the mercy of other people, like I’m backing up other people most of the time.”
Gerber often finds gigs for herself and musicians she can go on the road with. “I do hustle gigs, like for me and Chris Webster. I also like that I have downtime. If I get a week off, then I’m kind of ready to go again. But not necessarily to be on the road. I’ve got a dog that I don’t like leaving. So if I can drive on a tour, that would be great, then she can come with me,” says Gerber.
Gerber has a long history with Santa Cruz. “I think the first time I played down there was with Kate Wolf, maybe at the Saw Festival (the first California Musical Saw Festival was held in Santa Cruz in 1981). And I’ve played there a whole bunch of times with a bunch of different people. I love playing down in Santa Cruz and I love just being there. It’s such a great town,” Gerber says.
One can only hope that Kirchen adds some colorful stories to the night’s performance, because the man is a deep well of passion and knowledge, who also loves Santa Cruz.
“And you tell everybody,” Kirchen says, “that my father-in-law built a house in the Santa Cruz Mountains and is still there. I lived in the Bay Area between 1968 to 1986. And so I’m very glad to be back in Northern California, and I’m very glad to see a bunch of people that I haven’t seen in a long time and people that I love.”
Nina Gerber and Bill Kirchen will perform on Friday, August 28th at 6:30pm at The Landing, 251B Kings Village Road, Scotts Valley. Tickets are $40.
Santa Cruz’s only LGBTQ+ bar, The Neighbor’s Pub, closed its Pacific Avenue location on Aug. 23, according to an announcement by owner Frankie Lynn Farr.
High rent, increasing costs, frequent equipment failures and the troubling anti-queer political environment were given as reasons for The Neighbor’s Pub’s decision not to renew its lease at 711 Pacific Ave.
“We recognize the current political climate negatively impacts the pub as it limits folks’ financial abilities + comfort to come out,” according to the statement.
Since opening in late 2024, the “Irish pub meets gay bar meets cafe” has delighted and consoled members of the LGBTQ+ and BIPOC communities who felt welcomed by the queer bar’s inclusive community, fun trivia and drag show events.
The closure leaves a gaping social hole for those LGBTQ+ Santa Cruzans looking for an inclusive place to boogie down. Around 10% of California adults identify as LGBTQ+, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey. Regulars at the establishment took to social media to mourn the loss of their favorite space downtown.
“I am so sad. This was one of my safe places to hang out. Fingers crossed that a more affordable place to rent is easier to find,” wrote Chelsea on Instagram.
“Thank you for giving us a space to meet, to celebrate, to be yourselves. Although it was a roller coaster of a ride I’m glad to have been a part of it & of course thank you for giving me the opportunity to produce, host,” wrote Gallo Gallina, a drag performer.
The Neighbor’s Pub is closed for now, but queer events will continue in the city while Farr looks for a new permanent location. Farr did not respond to a request for comment.
After seven years of building a queer community through hosting pop-up events like queer maker markets, Farr took over a former sports bar location in 2024, crowdfunding more than $3,000 toward overdue rent before opening.
Days after opening, the pub had an inauspicious start when a man etched a homophobic slur into the front door and shoved burning napkins into the doorway in an apparent attempt to set fire to the entrance. The man, James Thunder Eason, was identified through surveillance footage and charged with vandalism, arson and violating civil rights while damaging property. Santa Cruz officials and LGBTQ+ organizations rallied to The Neighbor’s Pub’s defense, and the pub became a vibrant and diverse hangout spot.
HOW TO LIVE A MEANINGFUL LIFE Dave Evans, co-founder of the Life Design Lab at Stanford University, will be discussing his new book How to Live a Meaningful Life: Using Design Thinking to Unlock Purpose, Joy, and Flow Every Day. Finding purpose, clarity, and connection does not necessarily require sudden, big changes. Sometimes all that is needed is to rethink and realign our relationship with everyday life. Focus on what matters. Bring wonder and joy to the daily routine. Build up a caring and supportive community. Everyone deserves a meaningful life, and Evans’ book gives insight into how to build it. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: 7pm, Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave, Santa Cruz. Free. 423-0900.
JAZZ FUSION
SIMON PHILLIPS & PROTOCOL 6 Simon Phillips is widely known in the rock world for his peerless drumming on albums by Toto, The Who, Frank Zappa, Jeff Beck, David Gilmour, Michael Schenker, and Joe Satriani. Rock fans might not know that Phillips’ interests and skills have long been directed toward jazz as well. Phillips launched his long-running Protocol project with a self-titled album in 1988 and has followed up that tour-de-force with four more albums. The collective’s current lineup (dubbed Protocol 6) features keyboardist Otmaro Ruiz, Alex Sill on guitar, bassist Ernest Tibbs and saxophonist Phillip Whack. BILL KOPP
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $42-$53. 427-2227.
FRIDAY 8/28
ROCK
TOM KENNY & THE HI SEAS It’s not every day someone can claim they’ve seen SpongeBob SquarePants, Adventure Times’ Ice King and Rick and Morty’s Squanchy front a rock ‘n roll band. However, this Friday that’s exactly what is going down at the Crepe Place with Tom Kenny & the Hi Seas. When he’s not singing the blues, Kenny is the award-winning voice behind all of those characters. Added to the mix are The Damselles, a girl group trio that adds the sultry behind Kenny’s sounds for a throwback to real, true-blue rock ‘n roll. Opening for them is the Bay’s own Michael Michael Motorcycle, an eclectic mix of Americana, indie rock and high-octane weirdness. MAT WEIR
MESTIZO BEAT There’s something about the Santa Ana winds, the crystal blue skies, and the proximity to the border that infuse LA bands with a certain viscosity. Mestizo Beat is an ensemble whose well-oiled collective brings the sounds of the early 1970s to life. The brothers Magaña, Lito and Gus fill out the guitar and drums. The groove is hard, raw, fierce, and steady. Jose Castro on bass looks like he time-traveled here from ’72. Those three alone could bring any room to its feet. Add in Pedro Flores on percussion and the horn men, Mestizo Beat is world-class and ready to engage. DNA
THE HOLDUP By now, anyone from the Bay Area should be at least semi-familiar with The Holdup. After all, for 20 years this San Jose band has been delivering their blend of reggae, hip hop and rock like munchies to hungry ears. Despite breaking up in 2020, the band is currently working on Buying Time, a four-part release of re-recorded, re-produced and updated versions of old songs. Luckily for fans, they are also taking it on the road and this weekend they’re hitting the Santa Cruz mountains for a night of Irie fun. MW
THE KING’S MEN TRIBUTE BAND Ubiquitous today, the tribute band phenomenon can trace its roots back to celebrating the music and personality of Elvis Presley. Focusing on the “golden era” of Elvis’ career, Bay Area-based The King’s Men Tribute band is fronted by singer Lloyd Aron Douglas, an Elvis tribute artist since 2012. The group boasts an all-classic repertoire of nearly three dozen songs popularized by and/or associated with the undisputed King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. This two-hour performance of this one-night-only engagement features an optional VIP experience ($10 addition to general admission ticket) that includes a post-show meet-and-greet with “the King.” BK
INFO: 7:15pm, The Landing, 251B Kings Village Rd., Scotts Valley. $30-$40. 438-3251.
MONDAY 8/31
ALT ROCK
EAGLES OF DEATH METAL With fuzzy, high-energy strings and harmonic, layered vocals, the Eagles of Death Metal have sunk their roots into American rock since 1998. Once described by drummer Josh Homme as a mixture of “bluegrass slide guitar mixed with stripper drum beats and Canned Heat vocals,” their genre humorously makes a detour away from Death Metal, an idea developed when guitarist and founder Jesse Hughes wondered what a cross between the Eagles and death metal would sound like. With interactive, highly engaging performances, Hughes often wanders into the crowd to play. Their sound is a revved-up and riff-heavy version of rock that is tactful and passionate. SHELLY NOVO
INFO: 9pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $31-$56. 713-5492.
ACAPELLO
ROCKAPELLA If you are of a certain age, you played the video game, and might have even hooked into the PBS show Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego? The PBS show only ran from 1991-1995, but it was a hit. The mostly-for-children game show had school-age kids trying to solve international crimes, training tiny Interpol agents who would win a jet trip around the world. The house band, known as Rockapella, continued on for 40 years, with international tours and a bunch of albums. Not a children’s band anymore, Rockapella is for those still young at heart. DNA
INFO: 7pm, Audrey Stanley Grove in DeLaveaga Park, 501 Upper Park Road, Santa Cruz. $40. 460-6399.
TUESDAY 9/1
ROCK
REHASH Formed by high school friends in 2023, Rehash is glowing with youthful energy, angst, and “cool.” While young, they have a ’90s grunge, punk edge to them. Layering with reverb, melodic strumming, and tight rhythms, they began as a DIY bedroom project; their expansion into a four-piece band with dream-like live sets has earned them performances on Audiotree Live and other top-notch gigs. Their most recent album, Mock, takes a Shoegazey approach, dipping a toe into Bossa Nova or floating into pop. Wondering about love and heartbreak, apathy and empathy, there’s a Rehash lyric anyone can sing along to with full conviction. SN
INFO: 8pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $22-$34. 713-5492.
From rocket ships to oil rigs—how twisted does a tale have to be to connect the two? I’ve got a dense story for you, but density is my brand. I promise this will all come together, like a hospital gown.
SpaceX, proposed oil rigs, and the Commerce Department’s review of California’s coastal-management program are all pieces in the fight over who gets to control California’s coast. The current administrations in Washington and California fundamentally disagree about what the coast is for. One would think it would be for California.
Let’s pick up the story where Elon Musk decides to go to Mars. Musk poured money into SpaceX and by 2024, Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County launched 46 SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets. Musk aimed to increase the launches to 100 per year for the rapid deployment of the Starlink satellite internet constellation.
The California Coastal Commission (CCC) was alarmed by this and began reviewing the proposed increases. California voters created the California Coastal Commission in 1972 to give the state a strong voice in protecting its coast. SpaceX said it didn’t need CCC permission. This clash over who gets to say yes to a rocket bizarrely turns into a struggle over who gets to say no to an oil rig. If you’re confused, we’re on the same page.
The CCC objections cite concerns over increased sonic booms, wildlife disruptions, and public coastal closures. After reviewing the proposed increase and repeatedly seeking information that SpaceX and the Air Force did not provide, the commission objected to the increase in launches (eenews.net).
ENTER PRESIDENT TRUMP, NOT A FAN OF CALIFORNIA
“I hate the way California is being run” (January, 2026). “Maybe we’re just going to have to make them pay… because they don’t listen to us” (October, 2020).
Connected to Musk in the good-old-billionaire-boy network, in August 2025 Trump signed an executive order directing federal agencies to accelerate commercial space development. Two months later, the Air Force authorized the increase. But Trump’s order did something else. On May 20, 2026, the Commerce Department ordered a full formal review of California’s Coastal Management Program, the legal machinery that gives California a voice when federal activities affect its coast. Emma Haydocy, Senior Manager of Coasts and Climate Initiative at the Surfrider Foundation says attempts followed in Congress to restrict the CCC and weaken provisions of the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), but those legislative efforts went nowhere.
THE SURFERS’ PADDLE-OUT
On August 4, 2026, the Surfrider Foundation gathered coastal activists online to explain why they believe the California coast is facing one of its most dangerous attacks on the California Coastal Commission. Surfrider acts as a bare feet on the beach watchdog for coastal protection. They also warned that the federal government is moving toward possible new oil and gas leasing off California. Surfrider thinks those two developments belong in the same story. The federal government says it is conducting a program review — Surfrider says the administration is preparing to take a wrecking ball to California’s coastal protections. Somewhere between those two portrayals lies a question for anybody standing on West Cliff looking out at Monterey Bay: Who gets to decide what happens to the California coast?
CAN WASHINGTON TAKE CALIFORNIA’S VOICE AWAY?
Surfrider believes that’s what the review is really about. Jennifer Savage, Surfrider’s California Policy Associate Director, told the August 4 webinar that the federal government could eventually attempt to defund or withdraw approval from California’s coastal-management program.
“This is an unprecedented action,” Savage said. She said it would not happen overnight. There are procedures, hearings and opportunities for California to respond and she expects any serious attempt to strip California’s program of its federal status to wind up in court. But Savage has no doubt about what she thinks is happening.
“This is a rigged review,” she said, “and our coast is being singled out.”
Emma Haydocy calls the review a weaponization of the federal law that had been passed to allow cooperation between Washington and coastal states. She says that today, California is the target, but tomorrow it could be any state with coastal regulations that conflict with a presidential administration. “It could be Florida,” Haydocy said. “It wasn’t this time, but it really could be any coastal state.”
This odd environmental battle then becomes a battle for states’ rights.
OIL OR TOURIST BIZ? “Washington is using just a whole suite of tools to get at the resources on our seafloor or to use the ocean for uses that may be damaging to it,” says Dan Haifley. PHOTO: Richard Stockton
THE NEVER-ENDING STORY
Few people have spent more of their lives fighting for the protection of the California coast than Dan Haifley.
Haifley spent decades with Save Our Shores, served as its Executive Director from 1986 to 1993, helped lead the campaign for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and led the successful landmark anti-offshore drilling campaign of the 80s and 90s. He is still very much in the game; he writes about ocean policy and serves on the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Foundation board.
I asked Dan, “This never ends, does it?”
“No, it never ends and new things keep coming at us. They’re throwing in seabed mining, fracking, offshore oil, ocean space launches, floating nuclear stations, attacking our ability to review federal projects affecting the coast. All at the same time. All at once.”
“How is this different from the fight in the 80s? Is it worse, or just different?”
“We are in a more perilous and risky time than we were four decades ago,” Haifley said. “They’re using every legal mechanism to come after our coast and ocean in California.”
He sees these as part of a pattern.
“One is the Defense Authorization Act. The other is weakening the California Coastal Commission. Another is proposing looking at floating nuclear power stations. Another is looking at fracking, looking at seabed mining, weakening the rules around seabed mining. It’s just a whole suite of tools that they are using to get at the resources on our seafloor or to use the ocean for uses that may be damaging to it.”
Haifley says the administration is gambling with an economic resource as well as an environmental one. The Coastal Commission estimates California supports a $51 billion coast and ocean economy. But it’s hard to put a price tag on the coast itself. The numbers don’t account for beaches available free to the public, clean water, wildlife habitat, erosion protection, carbon sequestration, cultural value, property values tied to ocean views and the value we put on simply knowing that Big Sur, Monterey Bay or Año Nuevo remain intact. The California coast makes us feel whole.
FREE THE WAVES The federal government says it is conducting a review of California’s coastal program. Surfrider says Washington is attacking one of California’s most important coastal defenses. PHOTO: Richard Stockton
THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE
Then Dan Haifley said something that surprised me and may let me get to sleep tonight. He thinks that the half of a century of fortifying California coastal protections will save it.
“It’s kind of like the tortoise and the hare. The hare is the administration, throwing so many things at us, all at the same time. We’re the tortoise, so we methodically use what we have right in front of us, which is five National Marine Sanctuaries off California, 27 local onshore facilities laws, the courts and the law. And of course, public opinion. I think that we will prevail. It’s just exhausting.” The problem with being the tortoise is that the hare uses executive orders.
Haifley and Surfrider’s bigger worry is what happens if Washington systematically weakens California’s mechanism to protect its coast. In the 80s, Haifley traveled California’s coast helping communities adopt local laws restricting the onshore facilities the offshore petroleum development would need. He describes those local ordinances as a “blue wall.” And now, he says coastal activists are updating and reinforcing that tactic and cites Measure D on the November 3 ballot. Haifley argues that removing existing prohibitions against offshore oil development within California’s national marine sanctuaries would require congressional action.
I ask him, “Has Trump hacked the system to the point that the outcome of the review has already been determined?”
“No, he has not. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary staff are NOAA employees. NOAA employees tend to be scientists, educators and subject-matter experts. And they’re there, not for the money, but because they want to serve their country and they want to protect the environment and its resources. And in terms of this review, I’m confident that the career officials and NOAA will be very fair, as they have in past evaluations.”
He’s concerned about when the new evaluation gets above NOAA, up to the commerce secretary level.
“Once you get to Secretary of Commerce (appointed by President Trump), you get more of the political aspect,” Haifley said.
Why does all this bureaucratic process with comments matter? A surfer carrying a protest sign would make a cool photo. A comment paragraph buried in the administrative record might someday help win a lawsuit.
I asked Haifley if this might be about political revenge. His answer indicated it might be more about our history. “California is really the only space on the West Coast where there are offshore oil platforms,” he said. “We have existing infrastructure. So, it’s inviting.”
California offshore oil production was born in 1896, at Summerland near Santa Barbara. As much as we’d like to escape the industrial legacy, we already have the infrastructure, at least in the Santa Barbara area, that could make development in the future more plausible.
I LOVE IT WHEN YOU TALK CRUDE TO ME
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has begun a process that could eventually lead to oil-and-gas lease sales off California. Surfrider’s Pete Stauffer said, “We’re pretty certain that most of the California coast, or at least significant chunks of California’s coast, will be included in this offshore drilling plan.”
I independently put the same question to three geologists with knowledge of California petroleum geology: “If you were running a major oil company and spending your own company’s money, would you explore for oil off the Central Coast?”
Dwight Harbaugh said, “Definitely no.”
Vic Madrid, who spent a decade working for Chevron before moving into environmental restoration, agreed with Dwight. “No,” he said. “If I had an oil company, that’s not where I would invest my money.”
Then I asked Rick Stanley, a retired research geologist and expert on Santa Cruz geology. “I don’t think I would,” Stanley said. “I think it’s too risky geologically.”
Three geologists, with three ways of saying, “No.” Not exactly a bidding war.
That doesn’t mean there isn’t petroleum underneath the ocean off Santa Cruz. Stanley says, “It is possible that there is oil… we can’t deny that.” During an offshore exploration program in the 1960s, Shell drilled wells off Santa Cruz and San Mateo counties into a sedimentary basin that Stanley says stretches roughly 80 miles northwest from near Santa Cruz toward the Farallon Islands. The sedimentary rocks are at least 10,000 feet thick in places, he said, and include the Monterey Formation—the oil-rich formation associated with much of California’s petroleum production. How would we find out?
“More wells.” Offshore exploratory wells are expensive ways of purchasing information. Madrid knows that firsthand; during his Chevron years, he spent time on offshore rigs exploring the Monterey Formation near Point Arguello. He remembers exploratory wells during the 1980s costing $6 million to $10 million apiece. Those wells weren’t drilled to pump oil, but they were drilled to find out whether oil worth pumping was there. Today, to drill an exploratory well you’d have to be rich as a Rockefeller. Oh wait, wrong industry to worry about that.
Oil wells wouldn’t pop up for starters anyway. First, it would be seismic exploration to see beneath the seafloor, generating acoustic energy and measuring its return to map underground rock formations and identify structures capable of trapping petroleum.
“If you were gonna drill off Santa Cruz,” Dwight Harbaugh said, “you’d want to know if there’s favorable structures under the seabed.” Which means the environmental battle can begin long before anybody drills a producing well. Harbaugh thinks offshore drilling is a bad trade for the California coast. “Extraction is temporary,” he argues. “A coastline supporting tourism, recreation and communities can keep producing value generation after generation.”
OIL RIG BEHIND STEAMER LANE?
So, can Donald Trump put an oil platform behind Steamer Lane? Not tomorrow, not next year. And after hearing from the geologists, Dan Haifley and the Surfriders, I won’t be looking over a surfer’s shoulder for one.
A federal lease sale is not an oil rig, a federal review of California’s coastal program is not decertification, and a Commerce review does not erase half a century of California coastal law. But the administration does not have to put an oil rig behind Steamer Lane for California to lose. It only has to weaken California’s ability to fight the next federal project.
If California loses federal-consistency authority, Haifley doesn’t think Santa Cruzans will walk outside the next morning and discover an oil platform blocking the sunset. It’s about leverage.
“It would be a lot easier to site federal projects in the California coastal zone and in California federal and state waters than it would have been before,” he said.
The question is whether California will possess the same power tomorrow that it possesses today when Washington proposes the next oil lease, the next seismic survey, a floating nuclear power plant, a space launch, a seabed-mining operation, or maybe something that hasn’t been proposed yet.
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Peter Douglas, the legendary executive director of the California Coastal Commission, liked to say: “The coast is never saved.” People who want to get involved might start with the Surfrider webpage: surfrider.org/action, which tracks current campaigns to protect California’s coast.
Dan Haifley said, “Residents could vote yes on Measure D on November 3 or vote by mail. Measure D will be on the Santa Cruz County ballot, and every voter in the county can vote on this. It would require that any onshore facility, any zoning changes for onshore facilities, for seabed mining, or offshore oil and gas, be subject to a vote of the people.”
“We’re girding the blue wall,” Haifley said. At last, a wall Santa Cruz likes.
For half a century, Californians have fought tooth and nail to protect the most valuable shoreline on Earth.
It is a major part of our income. We hold it in our hearts, we get married there, we restore ourselves there. It is precious to our spirit.
In 2026, Washington is not just asking “What should happen on California’s coast?” Washington is telling us to shut up about it.
That’s how the good folks at La Placa Italian Cuisine are presenting their new world headquarters in Scotts Valley (219 Mt. Hermon Road, Suite F).
The restaurant-pizzeria-bakery merges two family businesses—La Placa Bakery in Ben Lomond and Bedda Mia Restaurant in Santa Cruz, which have both now shuttered—for a new do-it-all destination.
The offerings include Italian espressos, fresh pastries, classic pancakes, house crepes, authentic antipasti, Sicilian salads, loaded minestrone, traditional fettuccine, old world cioppino, chicken Parmesan, rustic pizzas and a bunch more.
The restaurant kitchen serves 8am-9pm every day but Tuesday, the bakery 8am-8pm the same six days a week too.
“The community response has been very, very good,” says Davide La Placa, who co-owns the spot with his sister Deborah and father Leonardo. “We’ve been extremely busy from day one—and we didn’t expect that—so we are very happy, and already adding more staff to keep up with all the people coming in, and to make sure we can continue giving everyone a great experience.”
A Watsonville institution has a new lease on life—and one that honors its local legacy. Melo Bread is now rising in the former Miramar (532 Main St.), which dished homemade style meals for a full 50 years. The female half of Melo’s husband-and-wife team, Ivana Grenz, traces her connection to the downtown landmark by way of her mom (a longtime server there) and great uncle (an original co-owner). While she helps manage the business, hubby and Bar Tartine alum Kevin shoulders a prodigious amount of baking, with quality to match the quantity. Highlights include naturally leavened, whole-grain sourdoughs made with stone-ground flour from Central Milling in Sonoma County and Cairnspring Mill in Skagit Valley, Washington, plus popular cinnamon buns, Nona’s focaccia, plant-based brioche and more. Limited hours to start run 11am–2pm Wednesday and Friday, 10am–1pm Saturday, melobread.com
HAPPY HEALING
If you’re in the market for some soul-soothing, Chaminade Resort & Spa (1 Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz) has some options at the ready. First up: doggie nirvana, aka Pawsh Retreat, noon-3:30pm Sunday, Aug. 30, with adoptions, ample food and drinks for both species, dog pools (!), agility games, portraits and a canine fashion show, to benefit the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter. Up next: For The Love of Dogs starring Peace of Mind Dog Rescue fur babies Sunday, Sept. 27 (discounted tickets last until Sept. 1), plus wine and beer, hearty hors d’oeuvres, top-shelf desserts, silent and live auctions of local art, experiences and getaways, a Hawaii trip raffle, and max grey-muzzled senior dogs mingling. Then the renewing Forest Therapy wellness retreat both Elizabeth Borelli and I spotlighted returns with a full retreat, one day or two, at Chaminade this Oct. 2-4, chaminade.com.
DELISH DRIPS
The Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust and Moss Landing Marine Laboratories invite the public to experience a free purple sea urchin (uni) tasting—and learn about urchin impacts on kelp—during Seas the Summer, a family-friendly celebration of Monterey Bay hosted by the Western Flyer Foundation 11am–3pm Sunday, Aug. 30, in Moss Landing, westernflyer.org/seas-the-summer-is-back…Humble Sea Brewing and Second Line Pleasure Club have The Boil coming to the OG brewpub (820 Swift St., Santa Cruz) 5-8pm Sept. 1, featuring day-of Sacramento Delta crawfish, Oaktown Spice Shop seasoning, custom andouille sausage, Viet-Cajun garlic butter, live music and these instructions: “Grab a beer. Grab a bib. Grab several napkins. Get your hands absolutely disgusting,” markitai.com/e/G1mSLn1Es…Slow Money Farm Fest 2026, co-hosted by Agricultural Institute of Marin, has opened early bird discount registration ($38) for Saturday, Sept. 19, at Red Hill Ranch in Petaluma, luma.com/slowmoneyfarmfest…Sophia Loren: “First we eat, then we do everything else.”
Featuring made-from-scratch, hand-breaded and cooked-to-order upscale fried chicken inspired by the real thing in Tennessee, Nashville Fire Chicken opened in Scotts Valley in January and moved to the Capitola Mall food court in June.
The spot is managed by Adam Hamadeh, who says he enjoys being a part of the community and bonding with the clientele while crediting his industry mentors, especially his brother, for the wisdom he has used to fruition.
He worked in the restaurant industry off and on as a young adult, while also spending time in tech before taking on the mantle of helping to provide the spark that would get Nashville Fire Chicken off the ground.
Their chicken offerings have taken flight, the place has good word-of-mouth and growing popularity with the hot pick best-seller being the two fried chicken sandwich plate between a potato bun with pickles, customizable spiciness (none, mild, fire hot), crinkle-cut fries and classic coleslaw.
They also have tenders on toasted white bread, and sauce options are ranch as well as their perfectly complementary seasoned and savory fan-favorite house sauce. Expanded menu items still in the works include mozzarella sticks, Nashville hot wings and Dubai-inspired desserts. Coming-soon beverages are boba tea and the social media darling drink “dirty sodas” sweetened with creamy adds like vanilla that bring a welcome and ideal pairing with the spicy chicken.
Tell me about your main mentor.
ADAM HAMADEH: My brother Zak showed me the ropes of the restaurant industry, teaching me about operations, culinary techniques, employees and staffing schedules. He himself owns multiple successful restaurants and has learned a lot on his own and by doing, and has been able to pass this expertise and knowledge on to me. This, combined with my personal restaurant management experience has really helped me get this place going.
What are the plans for the business?
We are excited to be open in the Capitola Mall and serving the local communities. We definitely plan on expanding, not only our food and beverage menu options, but also adding more locations throughout California and becoming a strong regional brand in the space. We are confident that our customers will taste the difference in our food compared to other fried chicken options and will see why our guests keep coming back and why we have so many regulars.
Mineral-laden and complex, The Hilt’s 2023 Estate Chardonnay ($50) is brimming with the fruits of crunchy nectarine to dried mango, along with peach nectar with lovely toasty notes. “The Estate wines are defined by the fruit and flavors of our little southwestern corner of the Santa Rita Hills,” says Matt Dees, winemaker at The Hilt Estate. He says this Chardonnay highlights the sunshine that shone upon their vineyards in 2023.
In 2014, the company acquired a historic 3,600-acre property which features three distinct vineyards: Bentrock, Radian and Puerta del Mar. A visit enables one to experience the beauty of the land, while experiencing The Hilt’s many excellent wines. As well as Chardonnay, they make Rosé, Riesling, Syrah, and Pinot Noir.
The Hilt Estate, 2240 Santa Rosa Road, Lompoc, Calif. 805-564-8581. Thehiltestate.com
Two Healthy Drinks
GRAASI Organic Barley Water comes in three different flavors and is packed with antioxidants. This low-calorie vegan drink offers 100% of your daily vitamins C, D, and zinc to boost your immunity. Graasi.com SHARE Aqua d’Oro is s a healthy vegan drink made from fermented fruit and veggies. There is no added sugar – the sweetness comes from the fruit. SHARE of Switzerland says it’s “a living fermented fruit for your living body.” Shareswiss.us
New Seascape hub
The Point in Aptos replaces Southpoint Coffee Shop, which closed a few months ago. The Point serves breakfast burritos, burgers, paninis, soups, smoothies, salads, ice cream, and more. Coffee is by Pacific Coffee Roasting at 7554 Soquel Drive, Aptos. The Point is at 10 Seascape Village, Aptos, 831-251-3644. Open daily 6am to 9pm.
Sample Wine on Wednesday
Seascape Beach Resort in Aptos holds its upbeat Wine Wednesday on certain dates (check the web for when). Morgan Winery & Vineyards is 5:30-7pm on Sept. 23. Seascaperesort.com
On a warm July evening, I found myself seated at a brew pub picnic table as two-time Guinness World Record holder Shawn Dollar took the makeshift stage to share a heart-wrenching story. Known worldwide for his achievements in big-wave surfing, Dollar described the life-changing injury that brought his career, and life as he knew it, to a sudden halt.
In 2017, during a solo trip to Big Sur, a routine cliff dive nearly turned tragic, sending him headfirst into an underwater rock. Somehow, Dollar pulled himself from the surf and made his way to the emergency room on his own. There, he learned he had broken his neck in four places.
Dollar was competing with beer, pizza and friendly conversation that evening, but as he described emerging from the accident with a life he barely recognized, the audience grew quiet. An elite athlete accustomed to pushing his physical limits was suddenly struggling with pain, cognitive issues and the loss of the identity that had defined him.
Fortunately, the tale has a happy ending. Dollar’s arduous healing process included a visit to the Amen Clinic in San Francisco, where Dr. Amen conducted a brain scan and offered a treatment plan to address an otherwise bleak diagnosis.
By this time I was on the edge of my seat. Dollar credited hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) with much of his recovery. I recently reached out to Dollar, now fully recovered and a staunch HBOT advocate.
HBOT involves breathing nearly pure oxygen inside a chamber pressurized above normal atmospheric pressure. Under these conditions, the lungs take in significantly more oxygen, increasing the amount carried through the bloodstream and delivered throughout the body.
“The first time I did HBOT I felt a huge improvement,” Dollar states on his website. “I could think more clearly, I was faster mentally and just felt better overall.” His history of heavy wipeouts and accumulated “minor” concussions ultimately led him to undergo more than 80 treatments.
HBOT has strong evidence for a fairly specific group of medical conditions. But as the technology moves from hospitals into wellness centers, it’s increasingly promoted for longevity, neurological conditions and general health, areas where evidence is still emerging. Yet local centers offering the technology have compelling stories to tell.
At Santa Cruz CORE, founder Jaimi Jansen says clients range from young children to seniors. “We had one patient who was going blind, and HBOT helped her eyes heal and saved her sight,” Jansen says. She has also seen clients use it to support wound healing after injuries and radiation treatment for cancer.
Beyond those applications, Jansen says clients seek HBOT for traumatic brain injuries, Lyme disease, athletic recovery and general wellness. CORE’s stem-cell patients also use the chamber prior to harvesting in hopes of improving stem-cell yield.
“It’s a simple thing to do,” she says, “to optimize your health or heal from an injury.”
Dr. Jay Pennock, founder of Capitola-based Rejuvenate Medi-Spa and Wellness Center, is equally enthusiastic. He recalls a patient who arrived shortly before a long-awaited trip to Bora Bora following extensive cosmetic surgery. Several wounds had failed to close, leaving her worried she wouldn’t be able to swim.
Pennock suggested daily hyperbaric treatments for the eight days before her departure. “Every one of her wounds closed to the surgeon’s satisfaction,” he says, allowing her to get into the water on vacation.
Pennock explains that HBOT increases the oxygen dissolved in the blood beyond what red blood cells normally carry, which can be useful in swollen or damaged tissue where circulation is compromised. Increased pressure helps reduce swelling, while oxygen dissolved in plasma can reach areas where red blood cells may have difficulty circulating.
“You decrease swelling and increase oxygen delivery,” says Pennock, who recommends HBOT before and after certain surgical procedures to support healing.
Not every hyperbaric treatment is the same. Pennock says the therapeutic “dose” depends on time in the chamber, oxygen concentration and atmospheric pressure. He’s also interested in HBOT’s potential role in regenerative medicine, sometimes combining it with peptides and stem-cell therapies to support the body’s natural repair processes.
“It works through the body’s natural processes,” he says.
What HBOT Is Proven to Help
While increasingly marketed for wellness and longevity, HBOT has long been used in conventional medicine. The FDA and Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society recognize its use for specific conditions, including decompression sickness—the “bends” experienced by divers—certain nonhealing wounds, radiation-related tissue damage, compromised skin grafts and flaps, and some severe crush injuries where blood flow and oxygen delivery have been impaired.
The key word is adjunctive. HBOT isn’t intended to replace conventional medical care. Instead, it works alongside treatments such as surgery, antibiotics and wound care, helping oxygen reach damaged or oxygen-deprived tissue and supporting healing.
For Dollar, there’s little question where he lands on the help-or-hype debate. After an injury that left him facing an uncertain future, he happily credits HBOT as an important part of finding his way back.
Elizabeth Borelli a wellness writer, author and Mediterranean Lifestyle for Longevity expert. Learn more about her work, local events and access free recipes at ElizabethBorelli.com
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that UC Santa Cruz student Alli Singh, 19, was killed after the car she was in drove off West Cliff Drive and into the bay at Steamer Lane — reported Aug. 16. Lookout
Protests for Midtown Housing Proposal
A controversial preliminary housing proposal at 1214 Soquel Avenue in Midtown Santa Cruz calls for a six-story, 173-unit senior living facility with ground-floor shops and 61 parking spaces. Designed by Workbench, the project has sparked neighborhood concern regarding scale and ministerial approval rules. Santa Cruz Local
County Budget & Fiscal Distress
Fallout continues from the county’s early-August fiscal distress declaration: officials cited cuts to federal and state funding as the basis for placing a one-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot, with the increase set to run five years if approved. CBS News
Road Safety Push
Santa Cruz’s Transportation and Public Works Commission reviewed the city’s road safety action plan, with staff recommending the council approve it, pursue speed limit reductions on certain streets, and establish a road safety task force. Lookout
Business Closing
Stockwell Cellars will close its Westside Santa Cruz tasting room Sept. 1 after a decade, as owners Eric Stockwell and Suzanne Zeber-Stockwell shift toward wine distribution and a smaller, wine-club-focused model, citing a broader downturn in wine consumption and rising costs. Lookout
New Businesses
Several new businesses registered with the county clerk this week, including Baseline Aerial Services, JM Tomas Cleaning, and Wildframe Creative.
If some people have their way you’ll see giant oil derricks when you look out on our Bay. Seriously. You won’t see them at Mar-a-Lago, but right here in our protected marine life zone and all up and down the coast.
Am I being alarmist? No, not according to our cover story by Richard Stockton who talked to experts and has become a coastline expert himself, writing about it and taking long walks all along it.
Little by little the Evil Empire is whittling away at the protections environmentalists have worked long and hard to construct to keep our coastline pristine. And if anyone remembers the oil spills around Santa Barbara in 1960 and 2015, you know just how important protecting the natural environment is.
Yes, there are those who argue that more oil will lower gas prices and bring in huge profits for oil companies and their shareholders. But, as the article suggests, those are relatively short term profits that not only defile the coast, but destroy a lifetime of profitable income from tourism.
Do people want to travel from all over the world to look out on oil derricks?
And again, lest you think I’m exaggerating, take a look at Utah’s Bear’s Ears National Monument, which was cut down on July 13 from1.36 million acres to 121,100 acres so that mining companies can make use of the parkland for profits.
This is sacred land for Native Americans and for all Americans, as is our Monterey Bay. But that’s not how the current administration in Washington sees it.
Read Richard’s story and see if there’s anything we can do to protect our own refuge.
Have you ever watched a Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board meeting? There’s a cult of people, myself included, who tune in for sheer entertainment value. For years there has been the kind of rudeness and infighting that shows just how crazy government can be.
Well, the shock of the week there is that a convicted violent felon who doesn’t live in the district is running for the Board. Todd Guild has the story here.
Finally, Elizabeth Borelli, our Wellness columnist talks to local markets about whether it’s safe to eat salad, in light of recent epidemics and lack of federal monitoring.
She says you should still eat your veggies but pay attention to where they are from.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
ALWAYS AMAZING There’s always something to see and photograph around Santa Cruz. People from other places don’t always get it. This duo was spotted on West Cliff Drive. Photography by Sharon Ferguson
GOOD IDEA
Santa Cruz City Schools will offer free meals to all students for the 2026-2027 school year, thanks to the National School Lunch and School Breakfast Programs. All students will be served a healthy breakfast and lunch at no charge, regardless of household income or any other factor, under the California Universal Meals Program at every district school: Bayview, Gault, Westlake, Delaveaga & Monarch Elementary Schools; Mission Hill & Branciforte Middle Schools; Santa Cruz, Harbor, Soquel & Costanoa High Schools; and Delta School, AFE, & Ark Independent Studies. All families should complete the quick application at sccs.net/freelunch.
GOOD WORK
Have a persistent squeaky brake? Inconsistent shifting? Rusty chain? Flat tire? Have your bike checked by a mechanic for free at the Santa Cruz Farmers Market today, Wednesday 1-4pm. This is through Ecology Action and is a real testament to what a community group can do for people. You can book a time for a repair by searching Ecology Action bike repair farmers market. If all appointment slots are full, please email tk******@****ct.org to be put on the wait-list. Bike on!
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“I want to inspire and motivate others to see what they are capable of.” —Endurance swimmer Catherine Breed, who is swimming the 900-mile coastline.
Grammy-nominated guitarist Bill Kirchen and acclaimed guitarist Nina Gerber bring decades of roots, rock and folk history to The Landing in Scotts Valley.
Santa Cruz’s only LGBTQ+ bar, The Neighbor’s Pub, has closed its Pacific Avenue location after citing high rent, rising costs and equipment problems, while searching for a new home.
Richard Stockton traces how SpaceX launches, a new federal review of California’s coastal program and possible offshore oil leasing have converged into a larger fight over who controls California’s coast.
La Placa Italian Cuisine combines its family restaurant, pizzeria and bakery traditions in a new Scotts Valley home, while Melo Bread rises in Watsonville.
Nashville Fire Chicken brings made-from-scratch hot chicken sandwiches, tenders and customizable heat to its new home inside the Capitola Mall food court.
The Hilt Estate’s 2023 Chardonnay from the Santa Rita Hills offers ripe stone fruit, dried mango and toasty complexity, alongside local food and drink notes from Aptos.
Elizabeth Borelli explores hyperbaric oxygen therapy, from surfer Shawn Dollar’s recovery story to its established medical uses and growing popularity in local wellness centers.
Tragedy at Steamer Lane
The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's Office confirmed that UC Santa Cruz student Alli Singh, 19, was killed after the car she was in drove off West Cliff Drive and into the bay at Steamer Lane — reported Aug. 16. Lookout
Protests for Midtown Housing Proposal
A controversial preliminary housing proposal at 1214 Soquel Avenue in Midtown Santa Cruz...
Brad Kava warns about renewed threats to coastal protections and offshore drilling, while also highlighting Pajaro Valley school-board turmoil and questions about food safety.
