Chai Harder

Dining Reviews

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July 23, 2025

Perhaps the most aromatic and interactive corner of a grocery store in Santa Cruz County materializes at the Seabright Staff of Life (1266 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz) a few times a month.

It pops when pioneering entrepreneur Ani Joshi—who resides in the same neighborhood—brews up her handmade Chai Five organic teas, like her original heirloom blend or intense golden chai, and shoppers can test drive the experience while chatting with their creator.

“I appreciate immensely that people care deeply about the origins of their food and the stories behind it,” she says. “Thinking globally and acting locally may be cliché but I see it in a lot of customers—I love seeing the way people connect through travel adventures, and food and beverages are a great conduit with that.”

A tasting goes a long way in revealing the power of her 100% regenerative organic, single-origin, black tea-forward brews, which she describes as “a simple but profound blend” designed, per her promotional materials, “to provide grounded energy, boosted immunity, and reduced inflammation.”

After trying her golden chai, I’m confident in predicting tea lovers will not be going back to what often passes for “chai” in many coffee houses but could be better titled “afterthought,” a la uninspired portobello burger tacked on menus for vegetarians.

The robust blends represent the result of her world travels, Ayurvedic training and Middlebury Institute of International Studies education, and—as her friend and fellow entrepreneur Casey Aguilar of Monterey Bay Food Tours adds—her Indian heritage.

“I love that Anita’s chai is her family’s recipe…and she truly cares about the farmers from whom she sources her ingredients,” Aguilar says. “You will always get a quality cup of chai that’s not only good for your body, but also helps support many small businesses.”

The next chai tea party in the aisles happens 4-6pm Thursday, July 24, and 4-6pm the following Thursday, July 31, chaifive.shop .

RISING TIDE

You can now sip a paloma with the penguins, a michelada with the moon jellies, a High Tide by the Great Tide Pool and a Coral Reef by the Kelp Forest. The Monterey Bay Aquarium (880 Cannery Row, Monterey) has long sizzled up a superlative food program stocked with Seafood Watch green listed fish and tasty expressions, and under Executive Chef Justin Robarge—now a full year in—that has evolved to even more ambitious and delicious places with dynamite dishes like a Oro King Salmon Poke Bowl, 50/50 beef-mushroom burger and seared tuna-and-pickled-seaweed nachos, montereybayaquarium.org …The Extra Tasty Tour is on its third month themed around the five taste profiles—sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami—with the Sour Jam Summer Slam going down noon-5pm Saturday, July 26, at Venus Spirits on the Westside (200 High Road, Santa Cruz), in collaboration with the Santa Cruz Collective and Santa Cruz Skateboards: smash burgers, lobster rolls, oysters, special sour cocktails, live music, a skate competition, 30+ local artists and makers, and pop-ups from other favorite food and drink vendors, for all ages, with no entry fee, venusspirits.com/public-events … English playwright Arthur Wing Pinero, pour us out: “Where there is tea, there is hope.”

Enchanting ‘Woods’

Stage

Christina Waters

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July 23, 2025

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Santa Cruz Shakespeare has taken Stephen Sondheim’s great gift to musical theater literally Into the Woods. Brisk, clever, loaded with the potent texture of human fears and dreams, this production of Sondheim’s masterpiece is a hit of fairytale proportions. Hugely ambitious (18 characters played by 11 actors). And
hugely successful.

The quests of beloved fairytale characters interweave and interrupt each other, while a witch’s curse commands a baker and his wife to venture into the woods on a mythic scavenger hunt. Do these things in three nights or you will never have a child, she tells them. And so, led by Little Red Riding Hood, we too start off into the woods to meet the Big Bad Wolf, Cinderella, her stepmother and evil stepsisters, Jack and the Beanstalk, a Giant, Rapunzel, and two princes.

Into the woods, each time you go,

There’s more to learn of what you know

Sondheim’s woods are the dark mysterious place where fears lie in wait and dreams wait to come true. Well, not quite. After a sumptuous taste of “happily ever after,” Into the Woods turns itself inside out in Act 2 and reveals the ambiguity of real life beyond fairytales. Life, where “you decide alone, but no one is alone.” So concept-rich is this masterpiece that opening night’s audience stayed glued to every word, song and caper of the entire two hours and 45 minutes. All of it performed with energy, clarity and stunning visual design.

Very much an ensemble piece, Woods requires all hands on deck. Director Jerry Lee clearly knew his material inside out, trusted his brilliant cast and turned them loose. The master of all of the musical energy was music director Luke Shepherd, who conducted the players’ vocal magic, while weaving in live keyboard riffs with electronic tracks into the illusion of a complete live orchestra. Clearly moved, Shepherd unleashed some memorable keyboard brilliance during the last ensemble piece. Bravo. Kudos too to Barry G. Funderburg, whose sound design produced a wonderfully menacing Giant.

**SCARY TALES** The Baker (Tyler Nye) and the Baker’s Wife (Melissa WolfKlain) encounter the Witch (Charlotte Munson) while the Narrator (Daniel Harray) looks on. PHOTO: Shmuel Thaler

Sondheim is determined to peel back the daydreamy quality of our romantic wishes and show us the messy reality underneath. A messy reality that is, in his book, ours to navigate and cherish. We first follow Little Red (a pert and confident Mai Abe) into the woods after she stops for pastries from the earnest if befuddled Baker (a solid turn by Tyler Nye), and his Wife (an utterly perfect Melissa WolfKlain).

Each trapped in their own dead-end fates are Cinderella (Ciarra Stroud) with her kitchen chores and Rapunzel (also Ciarra Stroud) in her tower. The princes and stepsisters are played by Alex Cook as Rapunzel’s Prince/Florinda and Elliot Sagay as Cinderella’s Prince/Lucinda. Cross-dressing works especially well with doubled casting, and these guys had a ball. Poured into leather pants, high heels and halter top, Sagay unleashed vocal polish while prancing off with his scenes of princely entitlement and cluelessness. Sagay and Cook were given the funniest parts and most agile tongue-twisting puns in a show filled with both.

Austin Blake Conlee’s tasty costuming vocabulary lit up the stage. Adding dashes of spice to Cinderella’s kitchen was Lori Schulman’s tart and bossy Stepmother. As Jack, the accidental giant-killer, Justin Joung gave us the bumpkin with a heart of gold, crossing agendas with the Baker over the matter of a white cow. With each season Joung continues to grow and amaze.

But let me pause for fresh adjectives. Armed with a dazzling suite of songs and lightning fast lines is the Witch, played by Bernadette Peters on Broadway, and Meryl Streep in film. These are hard acts to follow, but Charlotte Munson did just that.

As the hunchback evil witch she put fear into every character, and later transformed into her former beautiful form she pronounced the showstopping incantation, “Last Midnight.” Patti Lupone comes to mind, and so does Peters. Belting without distorting, Munson was a physical phenomenon. She can move, sing and gesture with laser accuracy, simultaneously. One could hear the collective intake of breath in the audience as she snarled, sashayed, flounced, cooed and brought all of the fairytale journeys into collision, laid out like an Auntie Mame banquet. Truly slayed.

So many choice moments, but another standout was the beautiful soliloquy by the Baker’s Wife, wondering how a stolen moment can change a life. Wolfklain was remarkable, as was Sondheim’s text. Bringing a tear to my eye was the subtle chagrin of Daniel Harray’s Mysterious Man, reminding the forlorn Baker in a bittersweet singspiel that you can’t run away from what you’ve left undone.

Into the Woods ends with the ensemble reprise of “No One Is Alone,” which in today’s socio-political climate, and probably Sondheim’s as well, surfs an undercurrent of surveillance culture. Not being alone is emotionally reassuring—yet existentially chilling.

I’m still blown away by the professionalism of this production. Art imitates life in a powerful reminder of shared journeys—a vivacious blaze of theater that repays the audience’s willingness to lean into the action, the actors and the depths that pop up through Sondheim’s cleverness. Not possible that there could be a more perfect setting for Into the Woods than these DeLaveaga woods.

Into the Woods, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine. Directed by Jerry Lee. Music direction by Luke Shepherd. Through Sept. 7, in the DeLaveaga Grove. SantaCruzShakespeare.org

This post was edited July 24, 2025, to fix editing errors.

More Arts & Entertainment in this issue:
Perennial Punk Rock Chameleons The Mekons
Conspiratorial Futurist Author: Robert Anton Wilson

LETTERS

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

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July 23, 2025

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SAVE THE BEES

I am a college student who has lived in California my entire life, and I am the granddaughter of a California agricultural rancher. I have seen the decline of the bee population in my area and its effects on my community firsthand. Governor Newsom has branded himself as a strong environmental advocate but has not yet taken a stand on the unregulated agricultural use of neonic seed coatings. While the retail sale of these neonic pesticides was banned in 2025, bees are still dying at a critical rate. We must stand up to big chemical companies before it is too late to save the bees. New York and Vermont have already taken steps to ban this pesticide. Considering California’s significant agricultural presence and its historical commitment to leading the country in environmental legislation, we should be the next state to ban the use of these bee-killing pesticides.

Niamh Regan

MASS EMAIL FROM SOCIAL SECURITY

I became suspicious when I received a mass email from the Social Security Administration (SSA) on July 3, promoting the Big Beautiful Bill, which claims to eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits. After checking the IRS website, I discovered that the bill includes a provision allowing individuals aged 65 and older to deduct $6,000 from their federal income, or $12,000 for married couples where both are 65.

This senior deduction is available in addition to the standard deduction or to those who itemize their deductions. However, it’s important to note that this senior deduction is temporary and will only be applicable for four years, from 2025 to 2028.

It’s available to individuals with an income of up to $75,000, or $150,000 for married couples filing jointly. The deduction is reduced for those with higher incomes and is completely phased out for individuals earning $175,000 or $250,000 for married couples filing jointly. As a senior, I prefer to receive official notices from the SSA, rather than a mass email proclaiming no tax on Social Security benefits.

Sean Livingston | Santa Cruz

KEEP IT COOL

A thumbs up to Hanna Nevins for her letter “Beautify Santa Cruz.”

I’m proud to call Santa Cruz home and would like to see visitors to our city welcomed by a clean, tidy landscaped entrance to our city.

Dave Misunas

DOG DAYS

Do you have a little time to spare and love dogs? Peace of Mind Dog Rescue needs volunteers to walk dogs for senior citizens in Santa Cruz County. Your help means seniors can keep their beloved companions, even when walking them becomes difficult. Be the reason a dog stays with the person who loves them. Call 831-718-9122 or visit pomdr.org to volunteer today.

Carie Broecker | Executive Director/Co-Founder

BATTERY PROBLEMS

Since the devastating Moss Landing 300 Vistra Battery Fire, members of the public have attended many 3CE Board meetings to voice concern regarding risks of lithium battery technology, and have repeatedly asked that 3CE not support lithium BESS. In all instances, no one from 3CE responded to those public concerns.

It was only at the June 25, 2025 Santa Cruz County Commission on the Environment meeting that it became known, thanks to an astute member of the public, that 3CE Board of Operations approved an exclusivity deal for electricity from a new lithium BESS in Monterey County a new lithium BESS in Monterey County, the Holman BESS, LLC, partnering with Clearway Energy in November, 2024. pub-3ce.escribemeetings.com/filestream.ashx?DocumentId=4979

3CE has not been forthcoming about this issue and has regarded the public dismissively. What other lithium BESS facilities are 3CE customer monies funding, but that have not been admitted to the public?

Therefore, it is important and necessary to boycott service by 3CE and urge others to do so, because of the unacceptable policy to support and expand hazard-prone lithium BESS facilities in our communities without transparency or respect for the public’s concerns about the risky lithium technology.

Most troubling is the fact that 3CE leadership refuses to re-evaluate their unrealistic goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030 and dismisses any consideration of non-lithium battery storage technology that is SAFE.

Boycott the 3CE’s unacceptable policy to promote toxic, explosive grid-scale lithium battery storage.

OPT OUT TODAY, and let them know why! 3cenergy.org/billing/energy-choices/opt-out/

Becky Steinbruner | Aptos

The Editor’s Desk

Brad Kava

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July 23, 2025

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

I’ll never forget taking a 6-year-old to an antique shop where I was looking at some classic vinyl albums.

“How does that fit in your CD player?” she asked. And then, as we looked at an ancient outhouse, I told her that thing was really, really old.

“Like from the ’80s?” she asked, referring to the 1980s.

I felt like an antique myself.

But even while the number of record stores diminishes, vinyl records are still flourishing among those who truly love good sound.

For a while, I believed the hype that CDs would bring us “perfect sound forever,” which was their hype catchphrase. But then I was invited to a blind test at the record label Mobile Fidelity Labs. They would put on the same albums on CD and vinyl and I had to select which sounded best.

One of the formats sounded three-dimensional, I could almost see the music floating in the room. The other sounded like a frozen black and white TV, flat, motionless.

I guessed the more vivid one was the CD, living up to the hype.

Nope.

The vinyl was infinitely better, which showed me that progress isn’t always progress.

That goes along with how I have found new music through the years. Some came from the radio; some came from wandering my college dorm and listening to friends’ favorites. None came from an algorithm.

Many of my lifelong favorites—and some of the most ambitious recommendations—came from the record store clerks I saw every Friday, the minute I cashed my paycheck and hit Pacific Avenue. Those included Johnny Clegg and Savuka, the Subdudes, Phillip Glass, John Cage, Air, Ancient Future, Angela Dubeau & La Pieta, and Clannad, to name just a few.

Mat Weir’s article about Streetlight Records made me appreciate how lucky we are to have a store with knowledgeable employees, a variety of new and used music, collectables and even live performances. The store has truly been a community center, where many times I spent more every week on music than on food.

As Willie S once wrote, “If music be the food of love, play on.”

Thanks, Streetlight, Mat and Gary SIngh for your tributes to one of our community centers.

Thanks for reading.

Brad Kava | Editor

FULLEST I was driving along West Cliff on Wednesday looking at the waves during the full moon and saw this amazing view of the West Cliff Surfer Statue with the full moon behind it and decided to take a black and white picture to show the amazing contrast.Photograph by Gina Butler

GOOD IDEA

Have you ever wanted to learn some of the interesting and unknown history of Aptos and Seacliff State Beach? Follow a State Park docent on Friday, July 25 at 10:30am and hear stories about the past, present and future of our area. The walk is a mile on flat ground. Meet at the Seacliff Visitor Center. Please register at SantaCruzStateParks.as.me/historywalk. For more information, call 831-685-6444.

GOOD WORK

The last bar in Santa Cruz to allow smoking has changed direction: The 1007 Club at 1007 Soquel Ave. was exempt from smoking restrictions for four decades, but now, new ownership has cut the haze to keep in line with city restrictions. No more smoking indoors. There’ve been some great upgrades—new TVs in time for football season and more soft dart machines—that have really freshened up the vibe and drawn in a wider mix of people. The bar’s still familiar, just with a bit more to enjoy.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

‘If you want to know who controls you, look at who you are not allowed to criticize.’
—Voltaire

Things to do in Santa Cruz

Things To Do This Week

GT Staff

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July 23, 2025

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THURSDAY 7/24

BLUES

ALLY VENABLE BAND

She may be young and fresh-faced, but Ally Venable has developed some serious chops in her 26 years. Rocking sequined dresses and knee-high boots, Venable has more than a glittery stage presence. Starting her first band at 13, she was influenced by the likes of Stevie Ray Vaughan and has been belting out old school blues ever since. With razor-sharp guitar riffs and a natural penchant for the blues, she’s found herself performing with the greats, like Buddy Guy and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. Venable delivers unfiltered honesty with an authentically American roots-rock vibe. SHELLY NOVO

INFO: 8pm, Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz $20/adv., $25/door, 479-1854

FRIDAY 7/25

SOFT ROCK

CLAY MOON

As a solo artist, Santa Cruz-based singer-songwriter Joe Coleman made a name for herself for mellow acoustic songs perfect for sitting around a campfire. Her Clay Moon bandmates do a great job of not overwhelming this solid foundation as they layer on lead guitar (Zack Bailey), bass (Colton Cori), violin (Mia Reynolds) and keys (Atticus Massie), with drummer Jackson Coleman holding it all together. They enter the mix sparingly and effectively build up to a lush sound. When they peak, their crescendos feel well earned. KEITH LOWELL JENSEN

INFO: 5:30pm, Discretion Brewing 2703 41st Ave., Soquel. Free. 316-0662.

ALT COUNTRY

ANIMAL PISS, IT’S EVERYWHERE

They say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover or a band by its name.” Ok, maybe that last part isn’t real, but when it comes to Animal Piss, It’s Everywhere, judgment must absolutely be passed. That’s got to be one of the best band names of all time! The fact that they sound like what the Velvet Underground would’ve been if John Cale were into Americana just makes them that much better. Formed by members of bands like Wet Tuna, Weeping Bong Band, and Sunburned Hand of the Man. Animal Piss, It’s Everywhere just released their sophomore album, Grace. MAT WEIR

INFO: 8pm, Crepe Place, 1134 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. 429-6994.

SATURDAY 7/26

JAZZ

THE SILVER LINING SERENADERS

Guitarist/vocalist Scott Stobbe and violinist/vocalist Ella Thomasine lead this New Orleans-based group. Performing variously as a trio, quartet and quintet, the Silver Lining Serenaders present music from the 1920s through the ’40s, drawing from swing, Western swing, early jazz, and old country and western, as well as songs with French or Spanish lyrics. Their approach combines well-known tunes and deep obscurities that deserve wider exposure. In addition to staging live performances throughout the Americas and Europe, the band has released two albums: a self-titled in 2022, and 2024’s Whenever You’re Lonesome. BILL KOPP

INFO: 6pm, Woodhouse Brewing, 119 Madrone St., Santa Cruz. Free. 313-9461.

PUNK

DAYGLO ABORTIONS

The raunchy, noisy, Canadian hardcore punk and metal band Dayglo Abortions has been gleefully and abrasively upsetting the status quo since 1979. They’ve gone in front of the Supreme Court of Canada on obscenity charges after a cop’s daughter bought their album Here Today, Guano Tomorrow and brought it home to daddy. Jello Biafra, the head of their American label, Alternative Tentacles, knew a little bit about fighting obscenity and helped them plead their case. Free speech survived to fight another day. KLJ

INFO: 7pm, Catalyst, 1101 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. $39. 713-5492.

FAIRY TALES

FRATELLO MARIONETTES’ CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS

Do the kids still have unfinished summer reading goals? The Scott Valley Public Library and the Landing Performing Arts Center team up to give three classic fairytales a musical makeover. “The Three Little Pigs,” “The Tortoise and the Hare” and “The Ugly Duckling” are brought together into one piece and supported by a music score by Saint-Saëns. After the event, enjoy snacks and refreshments while deciding on the next summer read. An assortment of library books will be available to check out at the event. This fun family event will entertain families and ensure kids continue to enjoy the magic of reading. ISABELLA MARIE SANGALINE

INFO: 11am, The Landing, 251B Kings Village Rd., Scotts Valley. Free. 566-9411.

SUNDAY 7/27

ROCK

THE COHESION

Cohesion: (n) “the action or fact of forming a united whole.” What better name to call a band that combines a little bit of everything for a musical smorgasbord? This Santa Cruz band boasts drums, guitar, and bass with keys, and saxophones for a little bit of funk, rock, prog and a hint of metal. Last month the Cohesion debuted two new band members, the first time they have played as a six-piece since 2018, adding a new layer of depth to their sound. This Sunday is their first time playing Streetlight Records for LIVE From the Light, an ongoing series on the store’s YouTube featuring all the live bands that play the store. MW

INFO: 3pm, Streetlight Records, 939 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 429-9200.

MONDAY 7/28

JAZZ

LE BOEUF BROTHERS

Six-time Grammy Award Nominees Remy (saxophone) and Pascal (piano) Le Boeuf create music that is intimate and boundary-pushing at once. One of the identical twin brothers’ latest efforts is HUSH, a cosmopolitan set that folds elements of electronica and indie rock into the jazz recipe. Both brothers have busy schedules that take in a wide variety of musical approaches, but as the Le Boeuf Brothers, they will appear for this date with Reuben Rogers on bass and Christian Euman on drums. BK

INFO: 7pm, Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $35. 427-2227.

TUESDAY 7/29

R&B

THEE MARLOES

With hazy, retro breezes, twinkly keys, and bright horns, Thee Marloes blends nostalgic soul with flair from their hometown of Surabaya, Indonesia. Guitarist and producer, Sinatrya “Raka” Dharaka and drummer, Tommy Satwick, started DJing and sitting in with bands together when they heard Natassya Sianturi’s silky smooth voice at a local show. The trio found synergy with cinematic soundscapes, graceful guitar, and funky breakdowns and were quickly signed to Big Crown Records. SN

INFO: 8pm, Felton Music Hall, 6275 Hwy. 9, Felton. $24. 704-7113.

Watsonville Photographers Portray ‘Friends: Near and Far’

Art

Tarmo Hannula

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July 23, 2025

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Watsonville Photographers Portray ‘Friends: Near and Far’

Two local photographers have teamed up in a joint photography show at Centro Artistico de Watsonville, also called Watsonville Center for the Arts.

“Amigos: Cerca y Lejos,” or “Friends: Near and Far,” is an exhibit of two dozen photographs that spans the Watsonville agricultural scene, Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) events at Watsonville Plaza and street scenes of Cuba.

Huve Rivas and Samuel Torres Jr. were both born to Puerto Rican parents who moved to New York City seeking greater opportunity for their families.

Rivas’ passion for photography was sparked in 1973, when he received his first Nikon. The gift of the 35mm led him to enroll in a course at the City College of New York.

In 1979, Rivas moved to Santa Cruz, where he turned his passion into a profession. By 1980 he had opened his first studio, Fantasy Photography, in the Capitola Mercantile Building. From 1980 to 1985, his skills and interest in photography flourished under the mentorship of Master Photographer Trini Contreras, the official photographer for the Miss California Pageant.

LOCAL ART ‘Berry Bowl’ by Samuel Torres is on view at Centro Artistico de Watsonville. PHOTO: Contributed

“I documented these events in the plaza; they are from a couple years ago,” Rivas said. “I really focus on the eyes. That, for me, is what makes the images pop. They’re all about the eyes and they are all doing something different.”

For 10 years Rivas was a member of the Professional Photographers of the Monterey Bay Area. He also taught a photography program at Watsonville High School from 1983 to 2002 and served as the photography teacher and director of the Video Academy at the school until 2010.

Torres said it’s exciting to be able to display his art “in an environment where they will be appreciated. I discovered my passion for photography later in life, after retiring from a fulfilling career as an attorney. With the guidance and encouragement of the talented photography instructors at Cabrillo College, I honed my skills in photography and visual storytelling. My work is a unique blend of photojournalism and abstract images, capturing everyday scenes that tell compelling stories without the need for many words.”

Amigos: Cerca y Lejos runs through Sept. 6 at Centro Artistico de Watsonville, 375 Main St., Watsonville.

Exit Strategy

Opinion

Richard Stockton

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July 23, 2025

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Please review and accept my application on the Customs and Border Patrol app for self-deportation. I want to engage in your new self-deportation offer. I am ready and grateful to accept the $1,000 stipend and a plane ticket to London, England. My family has been a conclave of illegal aliens with criminal ties for 356 years and by any measure of good conscience, it is time that I self-deport to my ultimate country of origin.

In 1656, three of my relatives, one named Richard Stockton, broke out of a London debtors’ prison to escape the Royal Crown’s justice and illegally enter the American colonies by sailing to New York. As described in The Stockton Family of New Jersey: And Other Stocktons, that Richard Stockton immediately fell in with the criminal element: “Richard Stockton arrived at Flushing from England in 1656, when his name appears in a petition requesting the release of William Wickenden, who had been fined and imprisoned for preaching without a license.”

Associations with felonious groups by Richard Stockton’s descendants continued when, in 1776, one Richard Stockton signed the Declaration of Independence, a treasonous act against the King of England. For this crime, punishable by death, Richard Stockton was thankfully apprehended and jailed by British troops. By subterfuge, outlaws like Benjamin Franklin and his cronies managed to spring Richard Stockton of New Jersey from his jail cell. Never expressing remorse, he ultimately expired from the British peacekeepers’ advanced interrogation techniques.

Our family conclave of criminals has continued operating through the centuries and by any sense of right and wrong, it is time for us to self-deport. If those three early Stockton brothers, no doubt bad hombres, had done the right thing and stayed in debtors’ prison in London, my family would not have borne the stain of 369 years of hiding from the law. Perhaps with Department of Homeland Security guidance, I can return to my native land of origin to deal with the consequences that we must have brought on ourselves.

I will accept your $1,000 offer for my self-deportation and look forward to your free commercial airline ticket—first class would be nice—nonstop from San Francisco to London.

Patriotically yours,

Richard Stockton

Good Times writer Richard Stockton has just launched his first Substack, titled Weekend Sedition. NOTE: Street Talk is on summer hiatus, but fear not. It will return soon.

Where to Find Wharf to Wharf Race Participants This Year

Local News

Juan Reyes

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July 23, 2025

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Where to Find Wharf to Wharf Race Participants This Year

For the first time in 52 years, the annual Wharf to Wharf Race will not begin at the traditional starting line in front of The Grove, aka the Coconut Grove, at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

Instead, the 16,000 expected participants will wait for the starting pistol to go off on Portola Drive in Capitola due to ongoing construction on the Murray Street Bridge in Santa Cruz.

Wharf to Wharf Race Director Scott McConville said it was one of those situations where the entire county needed to be on the same page in order to make the longtime running event happen.

“We wanted this to be a good experience for the runners, that’s another element,” McConville said. “But at the end of the day, with 16,000 people running throughout Santa Cruz County, we had to first and foremost make sure that this wasn’t going to be a massive disruption to the entire community.”

McConville added, “Nor could we make this something where we felt the community wasn’t going to be safe because of the event we were producing.”

The race will begin on Portola Drive near 30th Avenue starting with the elite corral, followed by corrals 1-4. They will run for what should be a flat and fast mile through the East Side of Santa Cruz.

Participants will then zoom downhill past Twin Lakes Beach and onto 7th Avenue where they’ll zip through the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor neighborhoods on Eaton Street, Lago Lane and 5th Avenue before reaching the second mile marker.

After wrapping around the Harbor onto Lake Avenue, the race will make its way back onto the traditional course along the Pacific Ocean for the remaining four miles. The rest of the route features iconic surf spots such as “The Hook” and Pleasure Point, and a semi-steep downhill to the finish line at the corner of Cliff Drive and Wharf Road in Capitola.

It’s been a whirlwind of adjustments for McConville and his team of organizers, who didn’t get notification the race was still happening until about five weeks in mid-June.

In the end, some difficult choices were made.

“There’s some things that are a pretty big lift for this event that take a lot of energy and time,” he said.

At one point, McConville was tying up loose ends on operations tasks in the beginning of July that should have normally been done in May.

“Just trying to make the event very, very enjoyable for participants, but how do I also simplify it at the same time so I can make it so it’s a good experience,” he said.

Other big changes include pushing the start time back a half hour to 8am, which is another first in the event’s history. And the prize purse is vastly smaller compared to previous years.

Winners of the men’s and women’s race each will receive the Mayor’s Cup and a $1,200 cash prize, while second and third place finishers will take home $600 and $300, respectively.

“We had to make some budget cuts early on in the planning phase because we didn’t know how costly a new route would be, and didn’t want to risk not being able to make our full donations that we do every year,” McConville said.

Fresno native and defending champion Evert Silva earned a $4,000 paycheck for winning the men’s race and an extra $1,000 for being the top American finisher in 2024. Fellow American Aidan Reed and Matt Baxter of New Zealand each earned $3,000 and $2,000 for second and third, respectively.

Silva is set to return, along with fellow American long-distance runner Galen Rupp. However, a majority of the elite field for both men and women have yet to confirm whether or not they’ll show up come Sunday morning.

“A lot of people were committing under the assumption that the prize money would be the same as it’s always been,” Wharf to Wharf Race organizer Scott Smith said. “When I reached back out to a lot of people, they still said they’re gonna come okay, but I don’t really have a way to know at this point if they’ve changed their plans or not.”

The top local and wheelchair winners in this year’s race will receive distinctive plaques, and the top 100 finishers—male or female—will be awarded elite Wharf to Wharf apparel.

Also set is a drawing for the gold bib, which is randomly given to participants who have a chance to win a $1,000 cash prize. The number is drawn at the conclusion of the awards ceremony scheduled for 10:20am at the Capitola Beach Bandstand Pavilion.

“I’m looking forward to just the event starting and happening, and getting through,” McConville said. “Not having to juggle logistics anymore.”

Revenge of the Mekons

Music

Stuart Thornton

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July 23, 2025

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Forming almost 50 years ago, during the first wave of British punk, The Mekons have traveled a twisty musical path winding through punk, folk, alt country, electronic music and stranger places, including the bawdy, musical companion piece to experimental novelist Kathy Acker’s Pussy, King of the Pirates.

From his home in southwest England, founding member Tom Greenhalgh explains The Mekons’ restless musical journey. “The next time we do something we want to do something totally different,” he says. “We are completely not interested in just honing a sound down at all.”

The 2013 documentary Revenge of the Mekons traces the band’s history and has fans, including Santa Cruz-based author Jonathan Franzen and musicians Will Oldham and Craig Finn, explaining the unique appeal of the group. The entertaining film also tells the stories behind their classic albums, such as 1985’s Fear and Whiskey and 1989’s The Mekons Rock and Roll. Though the latter was a major label flop, it is home to some of their finest songs, from the muscular rocker “Memphis Egypt” to the woozy “Cocaine Lil.”

The Mekons Rock and Roll found the band on A&M Records and making music videos that got some play on MTV yet the release never really broke through. Part of the reason was that the A&M employee who signed them had suddenly quit. “We ended up on the label with people who basically didn’t have a clue what we were about,” Greenhalgh says.

It’s a typical story in The Mekons’ career. There was also that time that A&M refused to release their album The Curse of The Mekons for being “not up to sufficient technical standards.”

“Needless to say, this is what we call complete and utter bollocks,” Greenhalgh says.

The Mekons have persevered despite these setbacks and recorded 25 albums since their inception. Greenhalgh believes that part of the band’s longevity is because, at this point, it’s a part-time project. “Basically, especially these days, we are not a full-time band, so everyone is spread all over the world doing different stuff,” he says. “We get together to record and to play, then we disperse again.”

Released on April 4 of this year, their latest, titled Horror, was written and recorded in 2022, after the band met up in Valencia, Spain. When their previous label, Bloodshot Records, went under, they found they no longer had an outlet for the release. It eventually came out on the British indie label Fire Records. “We weren’t under pressure to finish it, but it doesn’t normally take that long,” Greenhalgh says.

While Horror might not rise to the heights of the band’s best works, a few of the songs are among the best that the band has written. “Mudcrawlers” is a jangle rock gem about Irish refugees that sounds as if it was beamed in from a 1980s-college rock station, while “War Economy,” with shouted lyrics including “physical coercion will not achieve dominance,” is straight from the Clash’s school of rhythmic political rock.

Many of the songs reflect a world in crisis. One of the slower numbers, “Fallen Leaves,” poetically references climate change with its lyrics: “Cold sweats through late summer/Blood traces on the ground/The dry earth cracks and shadows grow/A dying sun sinks down.”

Unfortunately, the problems the album addresses have gotten worse in the three years since it was written. “The whole idea of calling it [the album] Horror was basically a view of the state of the world then,” Greenhalgh says. “Since then, it’s gotten a thousand times worse.”

Following the Mekons’ tour of the United States—where they will play 30 dates in 30 days including a stop in Santa Cruz—the band will release a remix of Horror done by Tony Maimone of Pere Ubu that will draw even more of the album’s darkness to the surface. “The idea is to make it more horrible, or more horror,” Greenhalgh says. “Make it really scary.”

The Mekons with special guest Kendall Jane Meade perform at 8pm on July 29 at Moe’s Alley, 1535 Commercial Way, Santa Cruz. $32.37. moesalley.com and folkyeah.com.

More Arts & Entertainment in this issue:
Conspiratorial Futurist Author: Robert Anton Wilson
Sondheim Magic in the Grove: Into the Woods

Golden Years

Cover Stories

Mat Weir

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July 22, 2025

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For more on Streetlight Records’ big anniversary, read Gary Singh’s story on its roots in San Francisco and San Jose.

I remember the first time I walked into Streetlight Records. It was July 2002 (exactly 23 years and one day to the date of this publishing), I was 18 years old and had recently graduated from high school in Southern California.

My then girlfriend and I were on a statewide road trip following the punk band The Distillers, with one of the shows at the Vets Hall. I had already been accepted to UC Santa Cruz and took the trip as an opportunity to explore the city where I was going to live for the next four years.

Walking into the store was like coming home.

By that time I was already a record collector—with my passion for music and records passed down from my dad—but my bland suburban hometown didn’t have any stores. When Amoeba Hollywood opened at the end of 2001 it was like walking through the pearly gates of St. Peter.

But Streetlight was different.

It wasn’t nearly as large as the Amoeba—which took up half a block at the original location—but still big enough to boast an impressive collection of every genre along with DVDs. It was homey in the best sense of the word and I knew right then and there I wanted to work at Streetlight, even if for just a little while.

In the words of John Lennon, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans,” and my journey to working at our local record store took a few twists until I landed the gig in 2007. Little did I know not only would I still be working there 18 years later, but it would be the longest job I’ve ever had (with journalism as a close second).

Photo of snapshots affixed to a wall — FAMILY ALBUM Photos of past employees adorn the back room of Streetlight Records in Santa Cruz. PHOTO: Mat Weir

Reflecting on what it means to work at a company that’s lasted 50 years (the golden anniversary), which seems like hundreds in our constantly changing, everything-must-be-new society, a few things have come up.

First, Streetlight is an institution. After all, what would downtown Santa Cruz be without Streetlight Records? Because beyond being just a store, it’s a community.

“Record stores function as gathering places for like-minded people to meet and hang out with one another,” explains Rob “Z” Zvaleko. Since 1997 Z has been the store’s classical music guru and before Streetlight he worked at HMV on 72nd and Broadway in New York.

“It’s a community thing. Bookstores and record stores have always been a Mecca for people to come and share their thoughts and tastes. Texting and online [conversations] isn’t the same as getting into a debate with someone in person.”

Streetlight Records Santa Cruz manager Roger Weiss agrees. He originally started with the company in Noe Valley and moved to the Santa Cruz store when it opened.

“[It’s about] spreading the gospel of music,” he says. “Sharing my tastes and being exposed to new music from customers and employees.”

Which brings us to a second point about Streetlight Records and why so many of us have been here so long: it’s a family atmosphere.

Ok, normally when a company says, “We’re a family here” it’s a good time to go the opposite way. And sure, there are some past employees who would argue otherwise. However, it’s been my experience for almost 20 years.

At the end of the day we’re coworkers, but there’s a deeper bond that connects us. We care for each other. We celebrate our wins, family members’ successes, and come together when tragedy strikes one of us. And just like any family, we bicker often as well, but if anyone tries to cross one of us, we back each other up wholeheartedly. Working here, I’ve made lifelong friends out of current—and ex—employees and customers.

For Emily Farris—one of Streetlight’s newer, younger employees, who’s been with the company for two and a half years—it’s the connection that interests her the most.

“I really appreciate it,” she explains. “Hearing everyone talk about the history of them working here for over 25 years. They are talking about a time before I was even born, but they say it like it wasn’t that long ago. It makes me feel small but also a part of something so much bigger because of all the history.”

**KEEPING UP TRADITION** A relatively new employee, Emily Farris enjoys being ‘part of something so much bigger because of all the history.’ PHOTO: Mat Weir

Which brings us to the third and final point that sums up the first two.

Streetlight is bigger than any of us and a staple in the heart of Santa Cruz and Santa Cruzans. How many bands wouldn’t exist if they hadn’t put a flier up looking for members on one of the two bulletin boards? Think of all the movie nights that never would have happened without the rows of DVDS. One of my beloved friend’s sisters was even married in the store (which, coincidentally, I was there for years before I ever knew them).

While today’s algorithms suggest what we listen to, there’s something magical about taking a chance on buying a record based just on the cover, because something about it just calls to you. And when it’s a dud, hey, at least you were brave enough to take the chance.

That’s why record stores are still so important and why they’ve seen a resurgence in the last several years. Long after the media declared physical copies dead, people are still buying LPs, CDs and even cassettes. A record store allows us the freedom to pause, breathe and reflect while digging through the dusty bins of lifelong companions and possible new friends.

And hey, who knows? You might just discover something you love—or hate—and will be able to share it with those around you, impacting someone else’s life in ways you never knew you could.

So happy birthday, Streetlight Records. Thank you for the long, strange trip it’s been, working in your concrete and metal walls. In the immortal words of the alien himself, David Bowie, “Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years.”

Streetlight Records celebrates its 50th anniversary at 3pm on July 27 with a show by the band Cohesion at the store, 939 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 408-429-9200.

Good TimesGood Times

Good TimesGood Times

Snake Oil?

Foot Traffic Jammed

Trigger Plays

Making a Scene

Free Will Astrology

The Editor’s Desk

Beat It, Meat!

Beers for Cheers

Chai Harder

Enchanting ‘Woods’

LETTERS

The Editor’s Desk

GOOD IDEA

GOOD WORK

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

Things to do in Santa Cruz

Watsonville Photographers Portray ‘Friends: Near and Far’

Exit Strategy

Where to Find Wharf to Wharf Race Participants This Year

Revenge of the Mekons

Golden Years

Chai Harder

Enchanting ‘Woods’

LETTERS

The Editor’s Desk

Things to do in Santa Cruz

Watsonville Photographers Portray ‘Friends: Near and Far’

Exit Strategy

Where to Find Wharf to Wharf Race Participants This Year

Revenge of the Mekons

Golden Years