The Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees will hold a special study session on March 28 to discuss the district’s ethnic studies curriculum, the board voted on Jan. 15.
The discussion is not an action item, and there will not yet be a vote to reverse an earlier decision to cancel the contract with Community Responsive Education (CRE), a company that provides ethnic studies training for teachers and school district administration.
Still, the vote was a significant step in a saga that began with the October 2023 vote not to renew the contract.
It is also the first—and most unambiguous—indication of how the new board members will govern differently than their predecessors. Of seven seats, five members are newly elected or appointed.
The reason for the board’s rejection dates back to a 2019 pilot ethnic studies curriculum that was developed for the California Department of Education, portions of which were deemed antisemitic by members of the Jewish community, educators and lawmakers.
One of the authors of the rejected curriculum, Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, also created CRE.
While the ethnic studies courses are still being taught at the district’s three comprehensive high schools, the cancellation meant that there was no ongoing training for educators or administrators.
Since the decision, hundreds of students, teachers, parents and community members have attended board meetings, demanding the contract be renewed.
Watsonville High school history teacher Bobby Pelz said he was glad the issue will be discussed, but that he was disappointed that the contract will not be reconsidered.
But he said that that won’t stop him and others from continuing to attend the meetings.
“We are going to bring back CRE, because if you haven’t figured it out yet, we aren’t going anywhere,” Pelz said.
Trustee Misty Navarro said that everyone agrees that ethnic studies is important.
“I think there are so many stories in Pajaro Valley of communities that have been marginalized and discriminated against,” she said. “Those stories need to be shared and taught.”
Trustee Danny Dodge Jr. said he wants to see many cultures represented in the district’s ethnic studies curriculum—Chinese, Filipino, Mexican, Ohlone—as well as lessons on the history of Japanese internment and the Monterey cannery strikes.
This story is part of Good Times’ Health & Fitness issue. Also this week: stories on stick yoga and an essay on one man’s decision to get a simple operation with complicated ramifications.
January is well known for fresh commitments to wellness. Gyms are packed, hiking trails are hopping and the juice bar line is wrapped around the corner. And with everything going on in the world, a renewed focus on self-care couldn’t be more timely—unless overwhelming professional demands make it seem out of reach.
For those whose job is to provide critical support to others—often behind the scenes—self-care can be the hardest thing to prioritize. So, the question is: who’s taking care of the caregivers?
When I was asked by our illustrious editor to check out “this hippie place up in the mountains called 1440,” I replied, based on personal experience, “I wouldn’t call it a hippie place”—recalling the redwood-encased infinity pool, next to the Redwood Auditorium.
What I was soon to discover is this woodsy Shangri-La is much more than a place to pamper the top 10%. In fact, many of its programs are focused on people who most need some reprieve: healthcare workers.
SHANGRI-LA Health care workers from all over attended workshops and therapy sessions at 1440 Multiversity like this one with yoga teacher Jessica Fajans. Photo: Kevin Painchaud
Winding trails lead through a forested landscape where sunlight filters softly through ancient branches, casting golden hues across tranquil footpaths. The air carries the scent of pine and earth, offering calm with each breath.
Founded by philanthropists Joanie and Scott Kriens, the nonprofit Scotts Valley campus opened in May 2017. Formerly occupied by Bethany University, the site is designed to provide a space where people could cultivate relationships and achieve personal growth.
Today 1440 offers an environment for individuals and organizations to explore, learn, reflect, connect and reenergize.
Yet the work began well before the first beautifully recrafted buildings were open for business. When it launched in 2010 as the 1440 Foundation, the focus was philanthropic grant-making, supporting individuals and organizations dedicated to fostering personal growth and stronger relationships.
Minute By Minute
The 1440 mission statement reads, “creating hope for living well with the 1,440 minutes we have each day.” At the Multiversity, that sentiment comes to life as a sanctuary where visitors can engage in personal growth against the timeless backdrop of a redwood forest.
And since the early days of the Covid pandemic, the needs of our behind-the-scenes heroes—healthcare workers—have become a top priority in this nurturing environment.
Currently the campus hosts two custom-designed programs for those whose work is to put others first. One is Healing Our Healthcare Heroes, which caters to a broader range of healthcare job functions. The other, Healing Our Nurses, is specifically tailored to nurses with a focus on the public health sector.
I meet Executive Director Katey Kennedy over Zoom, and we have a lively conversation with Julie McKay, 1440’s director of philanthropic programs and partnerships. Both have had boots on the ground since day one, and they can explain how 1440’s programs for healthcare workers evolved.
Through a separate 1440 Foundation program, Canopy Cancer Collective, the team was exposed to the challenges that healthcare workers faced.
Kennedy explains, “We had been working with physicians and advisors on that team, and it was also right at the beginning of Covid and the doctors we were working with were telling us just how beat up and exhausted the healthcare system was. They were our partners in this, and so I started brainstorming this with one of our doctors about what we could potentially do to support the medical professionals that he was seeing.”
Kennedy continues, “He was on the East Coast, so we were just talking sort of in general. We presented a proposal to our board and said, ‘We think we have an opportunity here. We think there’s a serious need to support the healthcare workers who are overwhelmed as a result of Covid, and we have a campus available.’
“And we said, ‘Why don’t we try and figure out how we can support them with some mental health and well-being initiatives to reduce their stress?’” Kennedy says. “Because if we don’t take care of our healthcare providers, who are the most stressed, we’re not going to have anybody left to take care of us when we need it.”
Kennedy adds, “We realized we could use the campus to support healthcare providers, and then Julie developed this amazing curriculum.”
In April 2020, McKay interviewed nurses, social workers, physicians and leadership in healthcare to learn what the most pressing stress-induced needs were. The program was developed based on those interviews and continues to shift to address the issues health care systems are navigating, while one unique element endures. The concept of “moral injury” is a term used to describe a common emotion among medical professionals responsible for administering lifesaving treatments.
“A moral injury is when you go against your own personal value system, whether it’s through a personal act or an act that you were directed by leadership,” McKay explains. “So it came up in the pandemic often. Because healthcare workers are having to make really difficult decisions about things like equipment, or family members not being present for the death of a patient.”
As a result, healthcare workers became the primary focus of the program. Ellie Kriens soon joined the 1440 Foundation as a program officer. All sessions are led by physicians, psychologists and other experts, including a chaplain. Each facilitator provides a series of tools which are introduced over the course of the three days.
McKay describes one challenge that comes up often during sessions is moral injury. “Self-compassion is a key theme in resolving the issues surrounding moral injury and grief. It’s a common thread, and that’s why the group dynamic is important to understanding and connecting in community.”
The opportunity to share what they might be experiencing is cited as a valuable part of the in-person group sessions. Other tools provided throughout the whole program are mindfulness and healthy eating.
“Food is an important part of the program,” McKay says. “We’ve had sessions on food as medicine in the past. If you look at the agenda, you’ll see every single element of the program, there is a tool to support their wellbeing. There are many opportunities that the hope is that you’ll walk away with at least one or two tools that resonate with the participant.”
At the close of the program, attendees make commitments to one another to follow through. Because they attend in cohorts, a sense of community helps provide reinforcement after the program ends. Sometimes, the cohort is a department; other times they’re from different departments. But the groups—which range from 45 to 140 people—are usually from the same healthcare system.
“Some of the healthcare systems have expanded this into their leadership,” McKay adds.
I ask the team to share a particularly memorable example of a transformative experience during the program. Julie replies, “That’s a hard one for me to pick just one, and I’m sure for Katey too. We’ve had the extreme from people who had suicidal ideation upon arrival and came to us later and said, ‘I feel so much relief.’”
Coach Eliza Ramos recalls a participant who came up in tears and “Thank you for creating such a safe space for us to speak our truths.” Others shared such comments as “I realized I don’t give myself permission to actually rest” and “I wish all nurses could experience this program. It has been life changing. I’m so grateful.”
The team has learned how defining and naming individual feelings can really be helpful for people. McKay says, “I’ve had a lot of people say, ‘I don’t feel so alone.’
“We sit in the back of the room and you can just feel the stress kind of peeled off layer by layer as they hear everyone talking about all the same issues that they’re managing,” she adds.
The team notes how healthcare workers are known for feeling it’s their job to just tough it out, so it is a relief to realize they’re not alone. To receive the support from others that they’ve been providing is a benefit they list among the most transformational aspects of the program.
I had the opportunity to witness this firsthand when I sat in on a recent session. I learned that more than 55% of healthcare workers will experience burnout in the coming year. And when the facilitator asked how many of the 50 people in the room had even been on a retreat, only five or six raised their hands. This number matters more to all of us than may be immediately obvious. Burnt-out workers leave jobs and are neither easy nor cheap to replace.
Creating a safe space in a group setting like this is critical, and I watched as the facilitator began the session by creating a set of agreements to abide by throughout the weekend. Participants agree to confidentiality, deep listening and non-judgment. Yet before anything else, the program begins with a sense of fun and connection. The first night is dedicated to laughter and dancing and building community.
The team discovered the difference during their pilot programs. Some groups were happy when leadership was in the room. One time a particular group was having struggles with their manager. They came up after the opening and said, “We can’t show up if they’re in the room.”
Upon learning this the manager left right away, and now during the planning calls it is determined if leadership should participate.
I ask, “What about the space itself? How do you think that lends to the healing and efficacy of the program?”
In response, Kennedy describes a recent session a healthcare manager was observing with the idea of bringing the program to their own campus. After being at 1440 for the two and a half days, the manager decided, “This container that you guys have built for these healthcare healers is an essential part of the program.”
The team agrees the space is perfect for this work. “We’ve had so many different healthcare groups. Julie and I were talking before the call. I think we’re at nearly 5,000 healthcare staff that have come through this program, so the container that we’ve created, it’s the whole thing.
“It’s the space, facilitators, even the food,” Kennedy continues. “We have really meticulously thought through the food choices and the classes, the sound healing, the nature walks and how it all contributes to this amazing experience for the healthcare workers to really feel that they can let go and take care of themselves.”
While the three of us sat in Kitchen Table, the stately community dining room, over a locally sourced and exceptionally satisfying breakfast, a markedly cheerful man approached. I learned he was Dr. John Chuck, chief wellness officer at California Northstate University. A member of the 1440 faculty, he was eager to share his opinion of the Healing Our Healthcare Heroes program.
“We know that lots of hard work goes into nurturing and growing the program. I just want to make sure you know that it’s working,” he asserts. “Guests arrive in all states of being, many struggling. The deep hospitality coupled with the comprehensive wellness programming meets those guests where they are, and takes them to a better place, a place where they claim reality-based hope for the many aspects of their existence.”
I note, “It sounds like it just came together almost in a serendipitous kind of way where it was timing and need and the facility and everything came together.”
Kennedy nods. “We had all the right ingredients and then we thought, let’s see if we can launch it and do some good. Initially because this was brand-new and it was a pilot, 1440 agreed to fund a significant portion of the cost. Pretty soon we had a couple healthcare systems step up and then it just blossomed from there.”
As the program has grown in both size and scope, it’s now funded by participating healthcare systems. The focus has also shifted toward public healthcare systems that often don’t have private foundations or financial backing. Through a combination of 1440 Foundation grants, scholarships, and private and healthcare system funding, all costs for the participants are covered and the individual doesn’t pay anything, which was the initial goal.
HEALTHY CARE A group of health care workers after receiving training at 1440. Photo: Kevin Painchaud
For healthcare workers who are not part of a systemwide program, 1440 provides a scholarship portal. They explain they’re constantly reviewing those applications to fit people in where they can. So, if they have a program that has five extra spots, if the contracted healthcare system agrees, they’ll pick five scholarship recipients to go into that program.
The last two programs have been fully funded by the Foundation, including one which began early this month. Santa Cruz County and Monterey County sent a whole cohort of hospice workers. For a group often struggling with secondary trauma, the program was especially transformational. “They loved it. Their grief session was extremely impactful, particularly for that group. It was a pretty powerful experience,” McKay says.
This month marks the beginning of a health improvement partnership with Santa Cruz County. And the team says it’s just the beginning. “We’ve touched nearly 5 000 lives with this program but there is one healthcare system I know of in Santa Clara Valley that has 8,000 employees. So it’s expanding to reach more and more people. Julie is great at taking the program and morphing it based on needs,” Kennedy acknowledges.
McKay adds, “We’ve worked with almost anyone who comes forward because we know how important it is. We’ve helped them secure funds. We’ve been to board meetings to explain the program. I’ve co-written grants to help get them funding. We will continue to advocate and support for all frontline healthcare workers to come through the program as need arises.”
Using the Tools
I save the best for last and ask the team whether their personal perspectives on work life, balance and self-care have changed since launching this initiative.
“Great question,” McKay says. “Well, I will share that I have watched it probably 40 times because I’m always in the room. I really want to see what the flow is, how the faculty are doing. And every single time that I’ve seen this program I’ve learned something new.
“We practice the tools we offer in these sessions,” she continues. “It’s part of our DNA as an organization. We started with mindfulness and meditation as sort of the core message that we were taking to educators. So as a group, we meditate, and we try to reinforce the behaviors that we’re sharing with the healthcare workers, too. That doesn’t mean that we are great at it—we rely on our community to support these habits.”
I had one last question for the team: “What is one takeaway from the program that you hope participants remember and apply when they return to their demanding roles?”
The response was unanimous. “That their own care for themselves matters, that they put their oxygen mask on first. That sounds so simple, but it’s really so hard to remember. I think for all of us.”
Kennedy continues: “I don’t think Scott [Kriens, 1440 co-creator] would be mad at me for quoting this because he says it all the time. This last week, I heard him say it to the group on opening night. He said, ‘You know, you healthcare workers are really great at taking care of other people, but you’re really terrible at taking care of yourselves. So, you are here for the next two and a half days—let us take care of you and please accept it.’”
This sage advice could apply to so many of us. And as the 1440 experts remind us, it’s a mentality we need to revisit again and again.
Healthcare professionals or organizations can learn more about the program or sign up through an application at1440.org/philanthropic-programs.
“Walking is the most basic living activity. Walking correctly is a dying art.”
As a kid, he grew up playing stickball in Brooklyn. Now as an adult, he leads Stick Yoga classes in doctors’ offices, yoga studios and classrooms statewide. Santa Cruz chiropractor Dr. Faygenholtz—or “Dr. Arthur” as he is known—is the “Father of the Stick Yoga® Method,” which he developed as a “new paradigm for wellness” to improve balance, flexibility and coordination for people of all ages and abilities.
“It’s a whole system of being more comfortable with your whole body,” Dr. Arthur says. “It adds a safety, a balance and other benefits as well.”
Faygenholtz describes Stick Yoga as “radical self-healing” best practiced barefoot in nature. Since most people are not touching the earth any more, we are losing touch with a primal magnetic charge. “We as a society are generally walking in an insulted environment, connected to the earth by plastic-soled shoes, sitting in cars on rubber tires,” he said. “Most people do not ground anymore.”
He traces the roots of stick walking back to ancient evolution. “Throughout history, man’s leaders had a staff,” or stick, Faygenholtz said. “When the ground touches you, you feel all that.”
An offshoot of Nordic pole walking, Stick Yoga was something Faygenholtz first developed in 1997, inspired by skiing. For the off-season, he noticed skiers needed conditioning to stay in race form for the warm months when there was no snow.
“This is what skiers do in the off season,” he says. “If you add poles, now you have 4-Wheel Drive.” When you walk without poles, you activate muscles below the waist. But when you add poles, you activate all of the upper body muscles as well.
Walking with poles can help maintain an upright position, which in turn will improve posture, prevent back pain, help with breathing and of course burn calories. As pole walking became popular in Canada, health insurance companies were even paying for trekking poles, he points out.
Faygenholtz first discovered Stick Yoga while working in wheelchair physical therapy at Sonoma State University. “When I was in chiropractic college I started teaching in Portland, Oregon, in 1974,” he said. “That’s when I started working with sticks. I taught stick stretching at Portland Community College.”
He trademarked his innovative system as a chiropractic approach, combining sticks with elements of tai chi form and the flowing movements of traditional hatha yoga. “You can apply isometric principles, discover traction, develop left and right hemispheres and leg strength.”
Stick Sessions
Dr. Arthur has taught Stick Yoga seminars for more than 20 years, from Sacramento to Los Angeles. He taught locally at Breath+Oneness studio, Eden yoga studio and open-air workshops at Ocean View Park and Nisene Marks State Forest, and he currently holds monthly seminars and workshops at 1440 Multiversity.
In the workshops, Faygenholtz shares techniques to build core muscle, improve posture and enrich both left and right hemispheres of the brain. “It’s teaching the brain to be in sync with both sides of the body,” he says.
Whereas many sports are one-sided, such as golf and tennis, stick work is symmetrical. For those training for a sport, this bilateral movement will enhance the sport, he adds. “When you’re using both hands, both hemispheres are in a relationship using 100 percent of the brain,” he explains.
With the stick as a tool, one can be more relaxed or stable while working through different movements. “The stick is your dance partner,” Faygenholtz says. “You can squeeze it or push it or pull it to add more strength.”
Adding a second stick opens up a whole new set of movements. “You can use the ground. You can use other parts of the environment to support different stretches,” Faygenholtz says. “But the main thing is your healing yourself. There’s a lot of benefit to having a ritual, a routine.”
The Science of Nature
Stick Yoga and Stick Walking are helping people get back to basics by practicing the simple art of walking in nature—bare feet encouraged. When doing the work on the beach or in a forest, the benefits grow exponentially with every breath of phytoncides.
Phytoncides, present in the salt air, help the body neutralize inflammation as negative ions neutralize positive ions. “The beach is an adult sandbox,” Faygenholtz says. “You are healing yourself, reducing inflammation when you ground yourself.”
The forest is another ideal environment, as trees have a particular protection around them, a phytoncide that protects them from fungus, Faygenholtz explains. “It’s a protection that kills to help the tree live,” he said.
Phytoncides not only protect trees from harmful insects, bacteria and disease; these little molecules can also benefit forest visitors.
“It’s the alchemy of the forest. You’re bathing in your senses. Cedar, pine, eucalyptus…all the different smells and sounds and tastes,” he says.
According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, phytoncides found in forests include pinean, myrcene, camphene, limonene and sabinene. Benefits from these natural forest substances offer anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and analgesic effects and serve as natural anti-depressants.
Faygenholtz compares the forest to a pharmacy. “Everything is symbiotic, nurturing,” he says. “As we breathe all of that in, we’re enriching our immune system. Even just going in the forest sitting on a rock,” he says. “It opens you up to being connected. More organically, it’s a closed kinetic chain. It’s self-care.”
Phytoncides are also the science behind the current trend of “forest bathing” as exposure to phytoncides and essential oils from trees have medicinal benefits that go far beyond aromatherapy. Just as people in Japan partake in social outings as a form of forest therapy, we owe it to ourselves to reap the benefits of walking in nature, rather than a room or a building. By exercising outside, we are giving ourselves an “interior celebration,” Faygenholtz says.
It doesn’t matter whether you use one stick or two, whether you’re pole walking barefoot or practicing Stick Yoga on grass or on sand. The bottom line is that working with sticks opens up a greater connection with the earth and its elements. “You are influencing your electrical system in a very positive way,” Faygenholtz says. “The stick is something to hold onto, and you can feel that you’re connected.”
BYO Sticks
With a little bit of DIY and a trip to the hardware store, you can improvise a pair of walking sticks for less than $20. “If you don’t have poles, you can’t pole walk,” Faygenholtz says.
He prefers rattan wood because of its light weight and flexibility, whereas bamboo has been known to fracture or crack from exposure to temperature and humidity. Recently he has been getting into polycarbonate sticks, which he developed and uses on the beach.
The grip is also a very important piece of working with a stick. “The quality of your grip is directly linked to your circulation,” Faygenholtz says. Just like acupunture can test your pulse, a good grip will enrich isometric strength, he notes.
Straps are not necessary but can serve a function for the wrists as students advance in their technique. “In the beginning you just want to test the water,” Faygenholtz said. “It’s like four-wheel drive, and you’re a machine. You’re like a toy soldier walking with good posture and awareness. You can’t slouch because you’re using the ground to benefit and push off and on.”
If you feel a sudden urge to inhale some natural forest phytocides right now, two good places to start are Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and the Forest of Nisene Marks. So why not grab a friend and a pair of poles? “When you’re walking with other people you are raising your social EQ,” Faygenholtz says. “All those things are there with pole walking.”
For more information about workshops and seminars, call 831-688-0361, email fa*********@***il.com or visit StickYoga.com.
I’ve never wanted children. The first time I attempted a vasectomy (under doctor supervision, don’t worry), it was 2018.
At a San Diego Planned Parenthood, I learned what the procedure was like (small incision, long-term decision) and that I’d be subject to a 30-day waiting period to prove no coercion. I signed forms saying I understood the procedure’s permanence. This was the consultation.
But at the front desk, I was floored to hear they didn’t have availability for months. A scarcity of surgeons, I was told. It was August, and they gave me a number to call in November.
Wouldn’t you know it, November rolled around and I looked at the crush of the incoming holidays and my service industry availability, and didn’t feel like integrating the procedure into either. So I balked.
It took a future November’s arrival to change that: November 5, 2024.
I had watched my country’s theocratic shift with mounting dread, Dobbs splintering us into state rules on a draconian sliding scale. But with the full conservative sweep of two branches of government (and, arguably, the third) I knew it was time to book a return appointment. All men owe women concrete action demonstrating their health is our health.
Imagine my surprise when the doctor brought out the same forms, saying sterilization consent expires after 180 days.
”Well, couldn’t it just be that I took six years to make a very considered decision?”
It couldn’t.
I’d need to wait another 30 days. I thanked her for her time and immediately booked an appointment from the parking lot with a urologist in my HMO. At that consultation, he told me he could do it after three days. His version differed: two punctures; draw the vas deferens out through each; cut and cauterize; dissolving stitches. He promised minimal recovery and scarring.
“You’re aware this procedure is forever? Reversals are performable but not guaranteed effective.”
I thought of great loves who wanted children and I didn’t, the catalytic reason we parted.
I signed the form.
The day of, I shaved the incision area and took my generic Valium. I’d chosen local anesthetic so I could be conscious.
The nurses prepped me, bathing my genitals in warm iodine cleanser. They drew a curtain across my abdomen so I’d experience the entire surgery blind.
The doctor came in and made eye contact for final confirmation I understood the procedure’s permanence, then the wizard disappeared behind the curtain.
He announced everything before he did it, which was a comfort. A stick when the anesthetic went in. Pressure from the clamp before each puncture, an eerie discomfort running through my lower abdomen to my kidneys when the vas deferens was drawn out, like plucking a guitar string inside me. The heat of the cauterizing instrument.
Afterward, a nurse put mesh underwear on me to hold the packed gauze in place, warning me the iodine stain could mislead me that the gauze was bloodier than it was. They pulled my spandex bike shorts over that, the most supportive underwear I own.
I alternated ice on/ice off every fifteen minutes for the rest of the day. They told me to sleep with it on, with a towel as buffer. I took the prescribed pain meds and slept soundly.
Recovery completely depended on supporting the area and keeping everything as motionless as possible. Also, weight distribution: I was much more comfortable with my penis on its side, rather than between my testes. I had little passive pain, spiking only when I got up or sat down too fast. I took Tylenol in the daytime, the stiffer stuff after dinner.
The first encounter with real pain was during my first permitted shower on Day Three. Left to the mercy of gravity, the absence of support made everything so tender.
The second time was more acute, when I accidentally fell asleep on the fifth night naked. I woke up queasy, pain shooting to both kidneys. It immediately recalled the times I was crotch-kicked as a soccer goalie. Back in my bike shorts, the pain subsided—how I’d sleep until Day Ten.
I packed a diminishing amount of gauze daily to catch blood seepage from the no-scalpel incision, now on Day 20 a scab with a dime-size swollen knot beneath. I return in three months for an analysis to prove all my swimmers swam their last swim.
I hope my account demystifies the vasectomy and its recovery. Experience and pain tolerance may vary.
You only have to look southward at the flames and poisonous smoke coming from Moss Landing to know what deregulation looks like.
We have a new president promising to deregulate industry and make America more profitable. But at what expense?
The Moss Landing fire is terrifying, not just because it can’t be put out, but because the hazardous chemicals coming from it are landing on the country’s richest agricultural salad bowl and the surrounding protected Elkhorn Slough and Marine Sanctuary.
It’s a serious quandary. On one hand, the battery units are designed to store solar and wind energy and move away from fossil fuels, an environmentalist’s dream. On the other hand, chemicals in the batteries are so toxic and unstable, there is no way to quench them when they burst into flames, which has happened four times already.
Why should we care? There are three more of these units proposed in Santa Cruz County near hospitals and schools.
Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church noted that the Moss Landing battery operation by Vistra Energy was approved with no arguments.
“When I took office two years ago, I accepted several tours of the Vistra facility, including a tour inside the building that burned,” he wrote. “The facility and its safety systems appeared impressive. I was personally given the guarantee that a fire similar to the one that occurred in 2022 at the neighboring PG&E/Tesla operation could not happen at Vistra. We know that is not true. This disaster is worse.”
He added: “With this being the fourth fire incident in a little over five years in Moss Landing, it is obvious that this technology is ahead of both government’s ability to regulate it and private industry’s ability to control it…
“…Both battery storage facilities initially passed the county permit process, including public hearings, with little to no opposition. Vistra got its first permit in 2020. It was approved by the Planning Commission and never appealed to the Board of Supervisors. It was that uncontroversial at the time.”
Conclusion? We don’t need deregulation, we need careful, intelligent study and regulation.
On the positive front: check out our Health and Wellness stories in this issue for important tips on keeping fit.
Thanks for reading.
Brad Kava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
SUNSET SEASON Twin Lakes Beach wins this week’s picturesque sundown. Photograph by Cole Leonard
GOOD IDEA
Waste Free Santa Cruz is teaming up with 37 local coffee shops to launch the Just Bring It—BYO Coffee Cup Campaign, a community-wide effort to reduce the environmental impact of single-use coffee cups. Starting Jan. 18, the campaign aims to inspire residents, students and visitors to bring their own reusable cups when buying coffee, with a goal to cut single-use cup waste by 20% within three months.
An estimated 10,000+ coffee cups go to the landfill daily in Santa Cruz.
Participating businesses will offer rewards to customers who bring their own reusable cups. Go to JustBringIt.org for a map of all locations.
GOOD WORK
The Santa Cruz City Council has taken steps to help businesses at the Municipal Wharf after last month’s collapse of part of it. There will be free two-hour parking on the wharf through February; rent relief for wharf tenants during the closure period; and they will spend $50,000 in promotional efforts to highlight the wharf as a vibrant destination and up to $25,000 in financial assistance for impacted wharf employees through partnerships with Community Bridges and the Community Foundation.
There will also be a free concert series on Wednesdays from 6–8:30pm, Jan. 22–Feb. 26, featuring James Durbin, Alex Lucero, DJ Monk Earl and more. Details: Eventsantacruz.com.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Cutting funding to mental health will absolutely put our students’ lives at risk.” —Bobby Pelz, Watsonville High School history teacher
Good Times’ newsletter has been very poorly received by the Downtown business community. No one likes it when places close, but spreading misinformation like this will make it more difficult for our community to attract the new uses that we all want. Perhaps you should publish an apology and correction.
Inaccuracies you just spread about Downtown include:
The headline: “For every business that opens downtown, another two close.” Where do you get your information? Did you do any fact checking before publishing this? What 36 businesses just closed Downtown? Because these 18 businesses opened in 2024:
Not to mention the 28 new businesses that opened Downtown in 2023. Or Monday’s ribbon cutting for the new headquarters for Paystand, a global block-chain financial services provider now with offices in Downtown Santa Cruz. Two new kiosk businesses just opened serving up crepes and tamales. And there are lots more new businesses to come in 2025!
In the article you write, “Toadal Fitness will soon move from downtown to a new location at 716 Ocean St. These are only the latest in a rash of businesses fleeing downtown Santa Cruz rents and depressed shoppers.”
Who told you Toadal Fitness is “fleeing” anything? They are temporarily relocating nearby while a brand-new library and affordable housing is built for Santa Cruz families, and then are welcome back in the new Downtown library building alongside a new childcare center.
Please don’t call our shoppers “depressed”! The data says otherwise. Downtown visitors are vibrant and there are lots of them! Several local Downtown businesses have told me they made or surpassed their holiday sales goals, thanks to the many amazing, wonderful locals who love to support their community and shop Downtown for their loved ones during the holiday season. Places like the Downtown CVS, the Downtown Gap & Downtown Trader Joe’s are also outperforming their peer stores. Downtown shoppers are the best!
We don’t like it when anyone has to close their business, but we are proud of the resiliency of Downtown and the vast majority of businesses that survive year after year, and continue working hard to help our community thrive, even when a handful of visible businesses in the district decide to close.
There are over three hundred locally owned businesses in the Downtown district, with thousands of employees and customers. They deserve our support and yours. We know you can do better than “news” like this that sensationalizes the bad, and shares none of the good.
Sincerely,
Jorian Wilkins
Executive Director Downtown Association of Santa Cruz
ONLINE COMMENTS
Fika Bakeshop Fans
Susan Ortmeyer is the best and most determined baker I have known! Her baked goods are a rare treat.
Philip Spradling | PhD, MFT
Susan’s home bakeshop is a gem in the valley. I’m looking forward to the meals she’ll be offering soon!
The late, great Linda Burman-Hall, Santa Cruz Baroque Festival’s founder and redhaired harpsichordist-in-chief, is a hard act to follow. But the 50-year-old festival has found its next leader in the form of exuberant German organist Jörg Reddin.
Reddin, guest director and performer for last season’s SCBF, is by any reckoning a musical virtuoso. As at home with intricate vocal work as he is surfing organ pedals at Olympic speed, Reddin is resident concert master at Bach’s former digs in Arnstadt, Germany*, and officially takes the directorial reins this weekend as the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival opens its 52nd season.
Channeling his inner Baroque muse, Reddin has designed a multi-concert program, Rendezvous with the Romantics, in which the works of Baroque masters (think J.S. Bach) will explore the styles, themes and melodic innovations that influenced later Romantic composers such as Schubert and Brahms.
If you think you’re not ready for pre-electronic music, you’re in for a mind-bending shock. Reddin works the pedals of the organ like a man possessed, creating a sonic landscape almost unthinkable in volume and beauty.
Reddin was captivated by Santa Cruz the minute he arrived last year. “It was so exciting for me,” he said in a recent Zoom interview. “Germans are so earnest, and here people are more open and relaxed, I can try out my musical ideas.”
Reddin, whose bass-baritone vocals will also be featured in the upcoming concerts, is impressed with the expertise of local music groups, especially the work of the Santa Cruz Chorale, with whom he occasionally rehearses.
When pressed, Reddin diplomatically refused to choose a favorite between singing and playing the organ: “With my singer’s heart I try to bring the sound of singing to the organ.” The virtuoso says he gained his astonishing keyboard abilities starting at the age of 15. “I learned good technique in the early years, and now I can focus on turning that into living music.”
Keeping up a monster professional schedule in Germany, Reddin plays church services in Arnstadt on Sundays, and on Mondays rehearses his 40-voice Bach Choir, plus a smaller cantata choir with 16 top singers. He presents four cantata projects each year, and works with children weekly and seniors twice a month. But that’s not all. “In the summer I have up to 40 to 50 tourist groups for whom I do private guided tours in the Bach Church—Bach tourists from all over the world.”
Why is Baroque music relevant in the 21st century? “I think the world has something like a memory,” Reddin maintains, “and everything that once sounded continues through the generations. The traditional compositions exist as a legacy, and being committed to this heritage is a great honor. That’s what Christian Grube, Sheila Willey, Vlada Moran, Mickey McGushin and many others do in Santa Cruz.” Reddin counts himself one of those, believing that “it is a blessing for the Santa Cruz area that Linda Burman-Hall created a sensitivity for this era with her dedication and love for Baroque music.”
Here’s where the past meets the present. Starting Jan. 26, the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival plunges into four concerts of rare keyboard and vocal compositions displaying the crossover from Baroque to Romantic music.
“Baroque music is characterized by a clear structure,” the maestro says, “with a lot of counterpoint. This means that a melody has a quasi-countermelody and they unite again and again. In Romanticism, the music opens up with more freedom; emotion unfurls even more.” Reddin’s programming has been carefully designed to make clear to the listener “that the difference is not so big, and that Romantic music would not exist without the Baroque.”
Concert I will comprise Baroque organ masterworks performed by Artistic Director Reddin on the pipe organ set against the glow of candlelight at Holy Cross Church. Guest artists will join maestro Reddin for some outstanding examples of 17th-century musical thinking. Reddin is especially excited about the second program on Feb. 2, which has been programmed for a bit of fun. Two of J.S. Bach’s most well-loved cantatas, the Coffee Cantata and Cantata Burlesque, will be performed in a pop-up café setting in Holy Cross Church Hall. “The audience can drink coffee first, and then afterwards have some beer,” the Arnstadt Church organist chuckles. Joining Reddin, who will be singing bass-baritone, are soprano Jennifer Paulino, harpsichordist Jonathan Salzado and the Baroque Festival Strings and Winds.
On Feb. 15, chamber music takes center stage with maestro Reddin on the Peace United Church organ, joined by violinist Shannon D’Antonio and cellist Judy Roberts. This unusual chamber concert explores works by Bach, Corelli and Vivaldi, as well as Romantic creations from Saint-Saens, Grieg and Rheinberger.
The March 1 finale to this year’s Baroque Festival provides a chance to savor the full range of Reddin’s musical dexterity. He will perform both as organist and vocalist, accompanied by the UCSC Chamber Singers led by Michael McGushin. The Bay Area’s premier early music choir, Women’s Antique Vocal Ensemble (WAVE), directed by Susan Swerdlow, will perform very early music by Guerrero and Schein, among others.
Reddin admits he’s excited about his return to Santa Cruz, now in his official capacity as music director. “The first time I came last year was difficult, with visas and paperwork, but it is a good break from my duties here in Germany.”
The chance to spend time in California, with new musical colleagues and venues, is something of a sabbatical for the man whose busy schedule has him leading choirs and performing as resident organist for various German churches. While this European master is in town, Santa Cruzans have an opportunity to go for Baroque in a big way. And we predict they’ll never look back.
Santa Cruz Baroque Festival
Jan. 26, 7:30pm—Holy Cross Church
Feb. 2, 2pm refreshments; 3pm concert—Holy Cross Church Hall
Author Anais Nin wrote, “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” I bring this to your attention because you Aries folks now have a mandate to expand your life through courageous acts, thoughts and feelings. I suggest we make the Arctic fox your power symbol. This intrepid creature undertakes epic migrations, journeying over 2,000 miles across sea ice, using starlight and magnetic fields to navigate. Let’s dare to speculate that you have something in common with it; let’s propose that you are equipped with an inner guidance system that gives you a keen intuitive sense of how to maneuver in unfamiliar territory. PS: Anais Nin has another tip: “We don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are.”
TAURUS April 20-May 20
Taurus archeologist Howard Carter made a spectacular discovery in 1922: the intact tomb of the Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, more than 3,300 years after his death. It was filled with over 5,000 artifacts, became a global sensation, and to this day remains the most famous find from ancient Egypt. A short time before he succeeded at his five-year quest, Howard Carter nearly gave up. But then his sponsor agreed to provide funds for a few more months, and he continued. In this spirit, Taurus, I urge you to keep pushing to fulfill your own dream. Renew your faith. Boost your devotion. Remember why you feel so strongly.
GEMINI May 21-June 20
The James Webb Space Telescope is the largest telescope in space. Recently, it discovered hundreds of galaxies that no humans had ever before beheld. They are very old, too—far more ancient than our own Milky Way Galaxy. I propose we make this marvelous perception-enhancing tool a symbol of power for you. According to my analysis of the astrological omens, you now have a robust potential to see things that have always been invisible, secret or off-limits to you. Some of these wonders could motivate you to reinterpret your life story and reshape your future plans.
CANCER June 21-July 22
One theory says that humans evolved to be afraid of reptiles because our early ancestors were frequently threatened by them. Among the most commonly feared creatures in modern culture are snakes. And yet, as anyone knows if they’ve studied mythology, snakes have also been symbols of fertility and healing in many cultures. Because they periodically shed their skin, they also represent regeneration and rebirth. I’m hoping you don’t harbor an instinctual aversion to snakes, Cancerian. The coming weeks will be a favorable time for you to call on and benefit from their iconic powers.
LEO July 23-Aug. 22
In the coming months, be extra creative as you enhance your network of connections and support. Encourage your allies to provide you with tips about opportunities and possibilities that you would not otherwise know about. Ask them to serve as links to novel resources that will nurture your long-term dreams. Here’s an idea to energize your efforts: Get a vivid sense of how trees use vast underground fungal webs to communicate with each other. (Learn more here: bit.ly/TheWoodWideWeb) Knowing about this natural magic may impregnate your subconscious mind with evocative suggestions about how to be ingenious in weaving the kind of community you want.
VIRGO Aug. 23-Sept. 22
I love my job as a horoscope writer. What could be more fun than analyzing cosmic signs to generate inspirational counsel for my readers? It’s a big responsibility, though. I am intensely aware of how crucial it is that I craft my messages with utmost care and compassion. Having been scarred as a young adult by reckless, fear-mongering fortune-tellers, I’m rigorous about nurturing your free will, not undermining it. I want you to be uplifted, not confused or demoralized as I was. With these thoughts in mind, I invite you to take a vigorous inventory of the effects that your work and play have on the world. Are they aligned with your intentions? Are your ambitions moored in impeccable integrity?
LIBRA Sept. 23-Oct. 22
Why are diamonds considered so valuable? I’m skeptical. High-grade diamonds are not as rare as public perception would lead us to believe. Yes, they are extraordinarily hard and scratch-resistant, but is that a reason to regard them as a sublime treasure? I acknowledge they are pretty in a bland way. But other gems are more intriguingly beautiful. Maybe the most important reason they are so prized is that diamond sellers have done effective marketing campaigns to promote them as symbols of love and luxury. All this is a prelude to my main message: Now is an excellent time to think and feel deeply about what is truly beautiful to you—and take steps to bring more of it into your life. For you Libras, beauty is an essential ingredient in your life’s purpose.
SCORPIO Oct. 23-Nov. 21
The way that ancient Romans made concrete was more ingenious than modern methods. Their manufacturing materials included “lime clasts,” which gave the concrete self-healing qualities. When cracks arose, they fixed themselves. That’s why Roman aqueducts built 2,000 years ago can still convey water today. Metaphorically speaking, I hope you will work on building similar structures in the coming weeks. It’s time to create strong foundations that will last for a very long time.
SAGITTARIUS Nov. 22-Dec. 21
Do you harbor a yearning to learn a new language, new skill or new trick? The coming weeks will be a favorable phase to get serious about doing it. Have you fantasized about embarking on an adventure that would expand your understanding of how the world works? The time is right. Have you wished you could attract an inspirational prod to unleash more creativity and experiment freely? The astrological omens suggest that inspirational prod is imminent. Have you wondered whether you could enhance and fine-tune your receptivity—and thereby open up surprising sources of fresh teaching? Do it now!
CAPRICORN Dec. 22-Jan. 19
Bristlecone pine trees grow very slowly, but they are hardy and long-lived. Their wood is so dense and strong that it’s virtually immune to disease, insects and erosion. They grow in places that are inhospitable for many other trees, flourishing in cold, windy environments where the soil is not particularly rich in nutrients. For the bristlecone pine, apparent obstacles stimulate their resilience. I don’t want to exaggerate the ways they remind me of you Capricorns, but you and they certainly have affinities. I believe these shared qualities will be especially useful for you in the coming weeks.
AQUARIUS Jan. 20-Feb. 18
In old Hawaii, it was forbidden for ordinary people to touch objects that belonged to the chiefs or to anyone with spiritual powers. Other taboos: Never walk across the shadow of an important person and never wear red and yellow feathers. Our modern taboos are different, but often equally rigid. For example, you are probably hesitant to ask people how much money they make or what their relationship status is. What are other taboos you observe? I won’t outrightly advise you to brazenly break them, but now is a good time to re-evaluate them—and consider changing your relationship with them.
PISCES Feb. 19-March 20
As winter progresses, each day is longer and each night shorter. Most humans feel an undercurrent of joy that the amount of light in the world is growing. But as an astrologer who appreciates cycles, I like to honor the beauty and powers of darkness. That’s where everything new gets born! It’s where the future comes from! In ancient Hawaiian religion, the word kumulipo meant “beginning-in-deep-darkness.” It was also the name of a prayer describing the creation of the world. In the coming weeks, I believe you will be wise to tap into the rich offerings of darkness.
The Nth Power are three virtuoso musicians on drums, guitar and bass, with strong vocal harmonies who’ve worked with A-listers like Beyoncé, Snarky Puppy, Maceo Parker, Dumpstaphunk, Big Daddy Kane and John Brown’s Body. The trio aren’t afraid to show off a bit. As they step out of the support role and into the spotlight, they’re acrobatically swinging through genres, blending soul, rock, funk and R&B. Their combination of strong chops, songwriting and daring arrangements equal good music to get lost within. KEITH LOWELL JENSEN
Winner of the 2023 International Herbie Hancock Competition and named “Chicagoan of the Year in Jazz,” Jahari Stampley continues redefining jazz’s boundaries with genre-defying music that captivates aficionados and novice jazz enthusiasts. The pianist’s dynamic live performances have been praised for earnest delivery and groundbreaking artistry. Collaborating with his Grammy-nominated mother, D-Erania Stampley, who brings multi-instrumental brilliance to their performances, the band draws influence from gospel, electronica and even the avant-garde. MELISA YURIAR
INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $42. 427-2227.
EXPERIMENTAL
GREGG KOWALSKY
Los Angeles-based multi-instrumentalist Gregg Kowalsky brings his mesmerizing soundscapes to Santa Cruz, performing a long-form piece that blends selections from his latest album, Eso Es (a hypnotic, intricate project using a Yamaha DX7 synthesizer and inspired by two decades of experimental composition), and new works that include plenty of rhythmic sequences and meditative melodies. Known for his previous work with underground duo Date Palms and contributions to American minimalist and electroacoustic genres, Kowalsky’s latest body of work showcases a new creative era: one that intertwines emotive melodies with delicate sound structures, offering listeners a unique fusion of immersive minimalist and playful maximalist sounds. MY
INFO: 8:30pm, Indexical, 1050 River St. #119, Santa Cruz. $16.
ART EXHIBITION
ACCIDENTALLY WES ANDERSON
Mix surreal symmetry, vivid colors and a pinch of retro fashion, and one gets the primary visual components of any Wes Anderson film. His unique aesthetic choices mesmerize and captivate the imagination, so much so that there’s a social media trend where people make videos focused on symmetry and faded colors. Paying homage to his aesthetic and Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk’s Giant Dipper roller coaster, the exhibition explores our world through a Wes Anderson lens, giving attendees a renewed sense of curiosity and exploration, who can see familiar sites from Santa Cruz and beyond. Runs through March 18. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE
INFO: Noon, Museum of Art and History, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. $10. 429-1964.
SATURDAY 1/25
FOLK
CAP QUIRK
Solo artist and musical storyteller Cap Quirk released his debut album, Step One, in 2013 and paid his musical dues when he performed at the Folk Alliance International Conference. He followed that with a set at the 2015 Indiana State Fair. Relocating to California, he released Sessions on Leslie, an acoustic-based exploration of lyrical concerns expressed as an emotional odyssey. Quirk’s core message asserts that the side paths in life’s journey are the most consequential and important. Cap Quirk’s extramusical pursuits—carpentry, electrical work, athletics—all subtly inform his music. BILL KOPP
This night of music is about as real as it gets. No tricks, no gimmicks, just a night of true-blue Americana music from—and in—the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Opening the evening is the duo of Allyson Makuch and Rory Cloud, otherwise known as Echoes & Artifacts, with rustic vocals and emotional truths that transcend time. Headlining the night is the one and only Chris Jones, who, when not performing solo with his trusty vintage hollow body Epiphone, is front and center singing for local folk group Wolf Jett. Thankfully, Jones knows his music and has the chops to prove it, with a catalog celebrating blues, country and rock. MAT WEIR
When it comes to telling tales of adventure, deceit and substance-fueled times with plot twists and surprise endings, the name Fred Eaglesmith stands alone. Maybe that’s because Eaglesmith has lived many of the things he sings about, starting when he was a teenager hopping on a freight train to travel across his native country of Canada. Since 1980, he’s performed a wide range of traditional and rootsy music, from blues to outlaw country. Performing with Eaglesmith is the multi-instrumental Texas-born singer Tif Ginn, who toured with him as a duo between 2016 and 2020 and is also his wife. MW
INFO: 5pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $54/adv, $59/door. 479-9421.
MONDAY 1/27
AUTHOR EVENT
SONORA REYES
Author Sonora Reyes was a National Book Award finalist for their 2022 young adult novel, The Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School. Reyes’s most recent work, The Broposal, again tackles issues of Latinx queer identity with wit and style. The novel’s “brotagonists” (lifelong best friends Alejandro “Han” and Kenny) are planning to wed, but the initial motivation is more about scoring a green card for Han than anything else. As events unfold, however, the two find their feelings. Arizona-based Reyes will read from their novel and engage with attendees in a Q&A and a book signing. BK
INFO: 7pm, Bookshop Santa Cruz, 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free w/ RSVP. 423-0900.
TUESDAY 1/28
FOLK
THE WILDWOODS
Strumming their way from Lincoln, Nebraska, comes the Wildwoods, an Americana trio featuring upright bass, guitar and violin—sometimes strummed and sometimes bowed. The married couple plus one plays traditional folk and rootsy compositions and originals, blending sweet vocal harmonies throughout each piece. It’s apparent they’re well-loved at home, being crowned Best Band by the Lincoln Choice Awards in 2022, and they’ve quickly become festival favorites and serious road dogs, with so many highway miles between everywhere else and Nebraska. KLJ
No matter how you slice it, wood-fire it, deep-dish it, thin-crust it, brick-oven it, or stuff-crust it…
Whether you roll Sicilian, Neapolitan, Roman, New Yorker, Chicagoan or Detroit-style…
Regardless of your preference for pepperoni or peppers, black olives or green, bacon or basil, pineapple or purgatory, jalapeños or extra cheese…
If you’re an identifiable pie purveyor of any variety, your appetite shall be sizzling with the approach of the first-ever Santa Cruz Pizza Week—Jan. 29-Feb. 8—if only because of the star producers participating.
The list of SCPW pizza-smiths joining in bubbles up around 25 (and swelling) as of press time, and involves some of the greats in the game.
Toss these by your tastebuds, if you will: La Posta, Kianti’s, La Marea, The Pizza Series, Namaste, Buzzo, Pizza 1, Engfer Pizza Works, Pizza My Heart (times three locations), Seabright Social, Upper Crust, Laili, Sleight of Hand, Crow’s Nest Beach Market, Churchill and Beers, Pizzeria la Bufala, Cavalletta, Woodstock’s, Mentone Restaurant, Bookie’s, and Tramonti Santa Cruz.
Bookies pizza guru Todd Parker, who already specializes in outside-of-the-box, produce-driven, fluffy-thiccie-tasty pizza, provides a helpful take on the excitement, while noting he and his team are plotting a meatball pizza special and an unprecedented foraged mushroom masterpiece.
“It’s an opportunity to do something we wouldn’t normally do, something fun, in a new way,” he says. “An invitation for people who don’t know about us to come check us out!”
That speaks to the big picture driving the 11-day stretch: Eaters can anticipate bespoke special recipes, exclusive Pizza Week–only deals and, yes, pizza for people who care about their locally created pies.
The official website presents a flavorful place to start, and there is also an official app (wklys.co/m/pizzaweek) and an Instagram feed (instagram.com/santacruzrestaurantweek) to keep y’all well-rounded (or square).
As punk rock icon and Santa Cruz–style spirit Henry Rollins put it, “Pizza makes me think that anything is possible.”
I promised more things to look forward to in 2025 in this space, but the pizza urgency means that can wait another week. But (!) there is this dope development to savor right now: Gabrielita Tamaleria (in a kiosk by New Leaf Market on Pacific Avenue) with chef Gema Cruz’s Oaxacan, banana-leaf-wrapped tamales—“unlike any you’ve had,” she says—are officially dishing in downtown Santa Cruz…OK one more thing to come, and start prepping recipes for: The 42st Annual Clam Chowder Cook-Off, Feb. 22-23, at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, the only clam chowder competition in the land that has lasted this long and lusciously, beachboardwalk.com/Clam-Chowder-Cook-Off…The most surprising press release of the year came this week with a request for me to attend the Rocky Mountain Oyster Fry Festival, happening just over the state border in Virginia City, Nevada, on March 16, and you’re invited too, visitvirginiacitynv.com…While A Complete Unknown earns Oscar buzz, Bob Dylan low key distills an underappreciated connoisseur-grade thing with his Heaven’s Door Spirits and its line of whiskeys, heavensdoor.com…“There is nothing,” Dylan once said, “so stable as change.”
