If you haven’t tasted any of Jeff Emery’s Portuguese varietals, then you should hurry to his tasting room on the Westside. It’s thanks to Emery that we have beautiful wines such as his 2012 Touriga, San Antonio Valley Pierce Ranch ($24)—a blend of Touriga Nacional (64 percent) and Touriga Franca (36 percent).
“We feel that this wine, more than any other in the Quinta Cruz brand, shows off why it is that we focus on these almost-forgotten native varieties of Portugal,” says Emery. “You will find all kinds of aromas and flavors that you probably have never experienced in a wine before.”
Emery says the Touriga offers striking aromas of berry pie in the oven, “all the way down to the warm, fresh bread-dough character, warm butter and hot, juicy berries.” And its subtle floral elements, including rose petals, violets and lavender, will make you want to add this unusual wine to your table over the holidays.
Emery’s other Portuguese wines include Tempranillo, Graciano, Rabelo, Souzão, and Albariño.
Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyard and Quinta Cruz, 334-A Ingalls St., Santa Cruz, 426-6209. santacruzmountainvineyard.com. Tasting room open daily.
Pacific Coffee Roasting
Co-owners Dena and Tom Hope have filled their cozy Aptos coffee shop with some wonderful goodies for Christmas: namely, all kinds of holiday ceramics—mugs, bowls, plates—along with delicious local chocolates from Ashby Confections; caramels, peppermint bark in beautiful packaging, holiday candies, tea towels, an assortment of loose teas, tea pots, and more. They also carry lovely gift bags for your purchases—some made of canvas—and, of course, freshly roasted coffee. Dena says Tom roasts nearly every day, so it’s nice to purchase coffee right before the holidays.
Pacific Coffee Roasting, 7554 Soquel Drive, Aptos, 685-2520 (in the Aptos Center near Outside-In, Aptos Natural Foods, and Zameen Mediterranean Cuisine).
True Olive Connection
Giving food and wine as gifts at Christmas is a safe bet—who doesn’t love good olive oil and balsamic vinegar?—snd True Olive Connection has an amazing selection. They also carry Greek and California olives, pickles, spices, and more. True Olive has a store in downtown Santa Cruz and another in Aptos. Visit trueoliveconnection.com for more info.
Bruno’s BBQ was a Scotts Valley staple, but Bruno’s BBQ is no more. In its place is Bruno’s Bar and Grill. With the new name comes new owners Rogelio and Joanne Guzman, who’ve owned and operated the restaurant since August. They’ve been slowly easing themselves into the restaurant’s new identity, a little at a time. In the future, expect lots of new items and other tweaks on the menu. Joanne took the time to give us a little sneak peek.
What’s the new Bruno’s like?
JOANNE GUZMAN: We talked about, “What does Scotts Valley need?” A lot of restaurants have been sold and are under new ownership, like Don Quixote’s and Malone’s. Scotts Valley really needed fine dining, and they are taking care of that. The concept of our restaurant is really [to be] a fun place for adults and families. People can come in and have a good time. We pulled the BBQ off of the name, and we changed it to Bruno’s Bar and Grill. The reason we did that was because Bruno’s has some loyal fans that we didn’t want to disappoint. We kept most of the items on the menu, and then added some of my husband’s recipes. We went from one owner to us in one day. She had it July 31, we took it Aug. 1.
What’s something you’ve added that you’re excited about?
My husband is really good with sauces, glazes, dressings. We’ve added a raspberry chipotle barbecue sauce for the ribs. You can go with the Bruno’s traditional, or you can do the raspberry chipotle. He also does an excellent chimichurri. So we’ve got a chimichurri steak. He’s also got this sauce he calls “naughty sauce” that we put on some things. We have some naughty fries that people love. It’s a mayo-based sauce, but it’s got a pretty big kick to it. It’s spicy. It’s traditionally used with tapas and potatoes. He introduces specials throughout the week to see if people like his recipes. That’s how we’re doing it, just checking, and we will be tweaking the menu as we go. And his Bloody Marys. He made his Bloody Marys famous at Coasters at Boardwalk Bowl—people would come from San Jose to have a Bloody Mary. Now he had to kick it up a notch, ’cause they’re still using his recipe over at the bowling alley. He’s added a pork slider and a chicken wing, in addition to bacon and shrimp.
What’s an old item you will likely always keep?
Definitely the baby back ribs. People love the baby back ribs. We’re also one of the only places where you can get beef ribs. We’ve kept those.
If the new Woody Allen movie Wonder Wheel was a musician, he would be tone-deaf. This angsty tale of lives of not-so-quiet desperation on the boardwalk at Coney Island seems unable to decide from scene to scene what kind of movie it wants to be. Because the preview trailer emphasized comic one-liners and vivid colors (the setting is the 1950s), viewers might expect a nostalgic coming-of-age comedy in the vein of Radio Days.
And Allen’s storytelling instincts are indeed so steeped in comedy, he resorts to a lot of the same shtick, even when he’s trying to tell a serious story. Here he trots out the usual suspects—a perpetually aggravated protagonist, romantic misadventures, a pretty but disruptive young woman, scary mobsters. But the problem with Wonder Wheel isn’t that the comic and serious elements can’t coexist; the problem is the story is emotionally uninvolving, whichever way it’s told.
Our narrator is Mickey (a jaunty Justin Timberlake), a handsome young lifeguard at the beach. After a stint in the Navy, he aspires to become a writer, and so is well-positioned to observe the characters in the story—until his own part in the drama turns out to be not so dispassionate. Mickey has recently begun an affair with Ginny (Kate Winslet). A careworn waitress at the clam house who once dreamed of an acting career, she blossoms under Mickey’s attention.
But Ginny is married to a big lug named Humpty (Jim Belushi), who operates the carousel. Humpty is a recovering alcoholic who took in Ginny and her young son after her first husband left her. She’s grateful to him, but disappointed in the marriage, now stuck in the “honky-tonk fairyland” of Coney Island, in a crummy walk-up apartment on the boardwalk itself (metaphor alert: the building used to house the freak show), under the neon glow of the Wonder Wheel Ferris wheel.
So things are already tense when Carolina (Juno Temple) arrives. Humpty’s daughter by his first marriage, Carolina became estranged from her father when she fell in love with a slick mobster at age 20 and ran off with him. Now the Feds are closing in, and Carolina is a “marked woman,” on the run from Mafiosi out to silence her before she can testify. Her enmity with her father was so well-known, she figures that’s the last place they’ll look for her. More problematic is the fallout when Carolina meets Mickey.
But the tone is off from the start, beginning with Carolina’s arrival, where she, Humpty, and Ginny argue about her marriage and what they’re going to do now. It feels like improv, where the actors have been coached in what kinds of things to say, but not given a script, so they just keep repeating the same points over and over. It happens again when Ginny pesters Carolina about what happened in a chance meeting with Mickey, and keeps saying the same thing again and again.
Also, we’ve seen most of these characters and incidents before, done better—mostly by Allen himself. With a career as long and prolific as Allen’s, of course there’s going to be some overlap in thematic content. But he doesn’t bring anything more meaningful to the story this time around. When Ginny has a full-on Blanche DuBois moment of romantic delusion, complete with fancy gown and jewelry, it’s as if Allen forgot he already did his own take on AStreetcar Named Desire in Blue Jasmine.
Allen gets a lot of mileage out of the setting (a giant poster “Coney Island Barrel of Laffs” is a nice, ironic touch). And it’s shot beautifully by cinematographer Vittorio Storaro—especially when Ginny is transformed by soft lighting and warm colors in her scenes with Mickey. (Although a scene when her face is bathed in shifting neon colors from outside in the middle of a big speech is a little distracting.)
But the weird rhythms of the dialogue and the familiarity of the characters finally keep us from ever feeling invested in their story.
WONDER WHEEL
**(out of four)
With Kate Winslet, Jim Belushi, Juno Temple, and Justin Timberlake.
Written and directed by Woody Allen. An Amazon Studios release.
Now that cannabis is becoming legal statewide on Jan. 1, some folks are wondering if psychedelic fungi—i.e. “magic mushrooms”—will be decriminalized next.
On Aug. 25, Marina mayoral candidate Kevin P. Saunders and his fiancée Dimitric “Kitty” Merchant filed a revolutionary proposal that would legally exempt everyone in the Golden State over the age of 21 from California’s Health and Safety Codes 11390 and 11391; i.e., any penalties for ingesting, possessing, growing, selling, or transporting the drug psilocybin, which is the primary psychoactive component of “magic mushrooms.”
Sound a bit far-fetched? On Nov. 6, California’s Attorney General Xavier Becerra gave the green light for organizers to begin the process of psilocybin decriminalization.
If Saunders and his supporters can gather the necessary 365,880 voter signatures by the end of April 2018, then the California Psilocybin Legalization Initiative will be placed on the statewide ballot next year, and voters will decide its fate. When one considers how many passionate magic mushroom enthusiasts there are here, a giddy feeling erupts, as there just may be enough psychedelically minded voters for this locally based initiative to actually succeed.
The current efforts are focused on decriminalizing the primary psychoactive component of magic mushrooms, psilocybin, not the fruiting fungal bodies themselves. There are actually around 180 different species of mushrooms known to contain psilocybin and they’re all currently illegal.
Saunders believes that now is the right time to act on this historic proposition, because the enchanted fungus can be used to help bridge the political divide in our country and restore its sense of community. He also told me, “2018 will be an off-year election, and there’s going to be a lot of interest in making a statement against Donald Trump, so we’re going to see a heavy turnout at the ballot box.”
This initiative may be the beginning of a larger movement. A similar proposal is currently underway in Oregon, led by the Oregon Psilocybin Society, for a 2020 ballot measure there, which would allow voters to decide about decriminalizing the natural psychedelic molecule in the Beaver State.
Since 2006, more than a dozen psilocybin studies have been conducted at Johns Hopkins University and elsewhere that show great therapeutic promise with little risk. Studies have shown that psilocybin can substantially reduce unhealthy addictive behavior, such as tobacco smoking, and lead to increases in the personality domain of openness, as well as lasting feelings of positive well-being.
Despite the possibility of some people having psychologically disturbing experiences—or, in rare cases, having some transient delusions or panic—it’s important to point out how generally safe psilocybin mushrooms are. According to last year’s Global Drug Survey, they are the very safest of all drugs in terms of the number of people who require emergency medical treatment.
Merchant described other benefits that the Golden State would receive. She said, “It would reduce the cost of law enforcement, with people no longer being arrested, incarcerated and persecuted.” A recent analysis by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office, concluded that legalizing magic mushrooms could reduce law enforcement costs by millions of dollars, while aiding the state with millions in taxes, so it appears that this might be a win-win situation for everyone involved.
Psychedelic mushrooms have been growing in popularity over the past few decades, and now even have their own holiday. Sept. 20 has been designated “Psilocybin Mushroom Day,” as an educational “day of action,” and the celebrations appear to be growing in size every year since its inception in 2014.
Scientific studies show that psychedelic experiences can substantially increase ecological awareness, which is so desperately needed to save our polluted biosphere from the onslaught of climate change—and that’s the primary reason why I think this initiative is so vitally important.
If you’re a California voter and would like to help psilocybin become decriminalized, you can start by following the CPLi Facebook page.
David Jay Brown was voted ‘Best Writer’ in the annual Good Times and Santa Cruz Weekly Best of Santa Cruz polls in 2011, 2012, and 2013. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including ‘Dreaming Wide Awake’ and ‘Women of Visionary Art.’
Word on the street was that a new Santa Cruz storage locker for the homeless was on track to open earlier this month, as mentioned in GT.
We were surprised to learn that opening day—which was originally scheduled for Friday, Dec. 1, according to homeless advocate Brent Adams—never came.
City analyst Susie O’Hara, who’s been working on the program, told us she didn’t even know when a new facility might open, although the Sentinel has since reported that the city’s aiming to move its homeless encampment to 1220 River St. in the Harvey West neighborhood by mid-January, with storage on-site for the campers.
Storage was considered one of the simplest goals within the 20-solution homeless strategic plan approved by the Santa Cruz City Council this past May.
For now, the current encampment at San Lorenzo Park is still something resembling home. But Chief, a 63-year-old homeless man from Moss Landing, says it’s difficult keeping track of all of his personal belongings all of the time—although local services do their best to help out. “It’s still hard biking everything to new destinations every day,” he says.
City staffers were working out the details last month, and contacted the nonprofit Warming Center Program to help facilitate. Adams, the Warming Center’s co-founder, says staffers contacted him for a Dec. 1 launch, slated for after a clean-up of the controversial current encampment at San Lorenzo Park.
Adams says that the camp cleanup ended up going through Monday, Dec. 4, with volunteers like himself pitching in—and then they heard the city had decided to hold off on the next steps.
Adams finds it unfortunate that even though he spent several days cleaning the park with Warming Center volunteers, the nonprofit didn’t hear from the city about the new approach until pretty late in the game. The center had even interviewed candidates and chosen one to run the storage facility, he says.
Adams, who’s toured encampments from San Diego to Seattle, has advocated for more of a sanctuary-type camp that provides a supportive and tightly knit community. He worries that the new emergency-type shelter in Harvey West doesn’t jibe with the recent homelessness recommendations, and that it won’t offer the needed support to help campers transition into more permanent housing. He’s holding out hope that the city commits to a storage setup that’s open to everyone experiencing homelessness—more along the lines of what the City Council approved in its recommendations this past spring.
For 10 years, 72-year-old Ernest Keller was homeless. A few of those years, he was able to crash at people’s homes, but for most of them, he was living in his own “cardboard castle,” as he puts it.
Eventually, 180/2020, the local nonprofit fighting to end chronic homelessness, got him a case manager and a home inside of St. Stephens Senior Housing, where he’s been living the past six months. When he moved in, he had nothing. He was sleeping on an old outdoor patio lounge chair that a friend gave him—still an improvement from the “rock and pebbles and cardboard” that he says he was used to sleeping on.
Shortly after being housed, Keller received a call from Wings Homeless Advocacy. Volunteers brought him a brand new bed, among other things, including a welcome basket, with basic home supplies like a toothbrush, toilet paper and a plunger. They asked Keller what else he needed, and he told them: a dresser, a dining room table and some chairs, all of which they took care of getting for him.
“I felt like, ‘Gee, I’m starting to feel like I have a home,’” Keller says. “I feel like I won the lotto. I feel like I got a brand-new life, even though I’m 72.”
Wings, an organization participating in this holiday season’s Santa Cruz Gives fundraising drive, supports the needs of the newly housed. It takes a lot of work to get Santa Cruz County’s homeless into permanent housing. But that isn’t the end of what can be a major transition. Without assistance, many of these folks can wind up right back on the streets.
“Say you’ve been on the street for 10 years, you get a new house. What do you do now? You don’t have any furniture. You don’t have any toothpaste, or a toothbrush, soap or shower curtain. Those basic things. Those add to your stress,” says Wings executive director Jil Castagnola. “Sometimes the stresses of everyday life get to them. We’re hoping to reduce their amount of stress to make sure they have a forever home.”
Wings is one of eight nonprofits in Santa Cruz Gives this year fighting homelessness—a list that also includes Community Action Board, Downtown Streets Team, Homeless Garden Project, Homeless Services Center, Pajaro Valley Shelter Services, Warming Center Program and Rising International.
Through Santa Cruz Gives, Wings is focusing on fundraising for its “big idea”—Beds and Baskets, the program that specializes in the basic needs of those just getting off of the streets and moving into a home.
“It seems inhumane to give someone the key and say, ‘they’re housed,’ and just move on. We are of the opinion that people deserve a bed to sleep on and the welcome basket has things like dishes, toilet paper, toothpaste, shampoo, things that we take for granted. They have none,” Wings co-founder and board president Peggy Benedum says. “Each person’s situation is very complex. They usually have multiple things that have to all line up to be successful all at once for them to be able to get in to housing and stay there.”
There are various aspects to Wings’ mission, including its commitment to offer rides wherever the people need to go. That can be to the doctor, grocery shopping or even just downtown to get some coffee. After living on the streets and being part of that community, it can be challenging to adapt to life in a home. Wings not only provides physical items, but also emotional support, mentorship and encouragement to let folks know that they are on the right path and there are ways to meet their needs.
The idea for Wings came to Benedum and Jim Young after participating in Project Homeless Connect Santa Cruz, an event where homeless individuals have access to various resources. Benedum and Young volunteered as advocates and mediators for those looking for help navigating the services. At the end of the day, they felt like they could do so much more.
“Truth is most of the people on the street are way more versed on the resources available to them than we were,” Benedum says. “We helped them get an ID card, we helped them get some food and clothes, but we didn’t help them get out of homelessness.”
Wings operates directly with case managers at organizations that find homes for people living on the street. The case managers, who are typically overwhelmed, contact Wings, looking for assistance. Currently, Wings is able to assist approximately a total of 50-55 case managers from three separate organizations. As Wings grows through fundraising, Benedum and Castagnola hope to work with case managers in places on the outer edges of Santa Cruz County like Watsonville.
Wings has what it calls a “no guilt” volunteer program, meaning that if someone signs up to help, they’ll be on a list to be contacted to help give rides, deliver beds or offer whatever service is needed. If the volunteers are unable to help on any given day, no explanation is required on their part. The more people on their list, the better they can serve the people they are trying to help.
“If we can increase our volunteers we’d be able to serve more individuals and support those individuals more,” Castagnola says, “and hopefully be one of the major forces of reducing the amount of homelessness we see in our community.”
For more information on Santa Cruz Gives, or to donate, please visit santacruzgives.org through Saturday, Dec. 31.
Christmas day is different this year. Let’s be different, too, in the giving of gifts this year. Let’s be creative, thinking small (under $5), economical, sustainable, long term, renewable, ecological, plantable (seeds), storable, alchemical, astrological, and the giving of tithes. Instead of buying gifts, consider handmade items that are baked, sewn, knitted, planted, sprouted, canned, tinctured, bottled and/or dried. Instead of store-bought gift bags and wrapping papers, let’s consider alternative and creative ways to wrap gifts (wrapped in towels or prayer cloths, placed in cups, bowls, flasks, bottles, ampoules, basins, planters, baskets, hampers, etc.).
In our times of economic reorientation, it’s essential and wise to think practical, useful, beneficial, functional and local—keeping money circulating within our local towns and villages. Gift certificates from local businesses keep money within the community.
Another idea—no gifts this year. Giving only to those in need (homeless, refugees, especially children). Giving through the Heifer project where we can give bees and ducks, cows, sheep and goats (real things) that build a sustainable way of living for a community. Giving in this way creates the seeds of the new Sharing Economy. When we give appropriately, what we need magically appears, “So we can give and give again.” Then we experience the true (hidden) miracle of this holy season. Happy “giving,” everyone. Creating Peace on Earth, Goodwill to everyone.
Should we be giving gifts to each other, the gift suggestions below provide an atmosphere and architecture of how to think astrologically. Recognizing the qualities of each sign (and persons), we better understand their essential needs and thus what to offer them. And so, give to …
ARIES: Things daring, innovative and new; intelligent and quick, impatient and bright red; sporty and casual; big, energetic, bold yet fleeting. See that it has gears, goes Vrooom! shielding them from anything deep or involving them in long-term follow-up. Eventually offer several dictionaries and a thesaurus. Kites and all types of hats, old and new. Running shoes.
TAURUS: Things easy and uncomplicated; sensual yet practical, simple and effortless; comfortable and calm; the very best quality, something planned, cozy, able to be stored for generations to come; something from a financial institution; and most of all, things they can’t share. Things made of fine wool. Cashmere scarves, cashmere anything, several miniature cows and bars of gold.
GEMINI: Anything to help them think and use their hands at the same time; intelligent things like puzzles; something that comes in the mail monthly or weekly (TheWeek magazine, TheNew Yorker, Llewellyn’s Astrological Guide); things quick, easy to wash and tend to; a casual party, party sparklers, stars for their bedroom, butterfly-attracting plants. People magazine.
CANCER: Anything traditional and that nurtures, which means nostalgic; used copper cooking pots and barbecue tools, heirloom seeds, antiques, what’s cozy and homey, comfort foods, small family gatherings, scrapbooks, picture frames, photo albums, baskets, boxes, bins, vases, holders, cases, small tubs and even a vat. Handmade non-lye soaps and warm sweaters. Holy oils.
LEO: Anything that lets them win, be first, ahead of everyone else and be the leader. Things providing them with attention, recognition and applause; things extravagant and large; jewelry, gold, games, mirrors, and whatever is heart shaped. A photo session. A gift in their name to the Heifer Project sending bees, ducks, geese, cows or goats to families in need in developing countries. A paint box.
VIRGO: Anything assisting in their quest for perfection, knowledge, serving and tending to; pets, books, health foods, ears of corn, sheaves of wheat, pomegranates; things that organize, structure, order, and bring forth detail; white countertops, gardens of flowers, natural cleaning products; anything biodynamic, and multiple and various ways they can serve. And words of gratitude.
LIBRA: Whatever offers them harmony, equality and balance; things artistic, poised and beautiful; sets of scales, weights and measures, jewelry, flowers; things well designed, tickets to orchestras, plays, ballets and the theater; an outdoor fire pit, a planned party with friends, mirrors, paintings, money, and a course in practical economics for world good. European chocolates.
SCORPIO: Designer sunglasses, big and black; things mysterious, private, under the surface, intense and powerful; clothes in dark shades with a gold something tucked inside; mystery novels, psychological novels, classes in astrology and Ancient Wisdom; luxurious bedding, screens, curtains, veils, shrouds, masks, cloaks and drapes. A cave with deep paramagnetic waters and secrets to discover. Anything that locks.
SAGITTARIUS: A pilgrimage over hill and dale that’s adventurous, risky, exciting and philosophical; things swift, moving, or looking like a horse; a real horse or pony (for a Sag child); bow and arrows, a new town to move to, trip to an artistic desert town; music, musical instruments, publishing their writings; loungewear; a photo of the Galactic Center (Sag); and the plant Sagittaria.
CAPRICORN: The Capricorn icons—a ladder and sturdy mountain boots; anything from a mountain store; hiking and camping equipment; stories of treks to the top of Mt. Everest; images of unicorns and the rising Sun; an Ashram; yoga classes; bone-building vitamins; a course in biodynamics, requesting them to design, build and craft something beautifully useful. A craft set and anything successfully indulgent.
AQUARIUS: Greenhouses in an intentional community with tilapia ponds in a biosphere and bio-shelter on a farm with green-roofed straw bale houses in the country away from large towns, with friends and loved ones. If impossible, then books about each of these along with a jar of real tupelo honey. Things gadgety, technological, electrical or giving to a good cause toward assuaging the suffering of “thirsty humanity.”
PISCES: Cashmere socks, supple boots, comforting shoes; plush slippers, a warm and private saline pool; visits to a spa; health club membership; monastery retreat, a course in permaculture; a gardener, wooden shelves and bureaus, incense, lavender oil, fish in a fishbowl, Persian rug, children’s books, rosary, prayer book, a dome cottage, being tended to and understood. A home.
Our picks for the best live music for the week of December 20, 2017.
WEDNESDAY 12/20
NEW ORLEANS/R&B
STAR LA’MOAN
As the story goes, performer Marla Stone adopted the name Star La’Moan for a songwriting contest years ago, and the loose spoonerism stuck. Now bandleader of her own outfit, the Kitchenettes, La’Moan tears through rock, R&B, New Orleans second line, blues, and gypsy jazz with ease. The Kitchenettes includes horns, a “full raucous rhythm section,” and even a bassoon. For this performance, La’Moan and the band welcome local gospel/R&B singer Tammi Brown. CJ
Hey Now! You’re an all-star, get your game on, go play! Did you know that song is almost two decades old? And yet, Smash Mouth’s big ’90s hit “All Star” has somehow become one of the biggest memes of 2017. Whether you discovered the song on MTV, on the Shrek soundtrack, or chopped and screwed and mixed with Seinfeld quotes on YouTube, there’s just something undeniably, universally catchy about the song. As they return to Santa Cruz, Smash Mouth has enjoyed a little resurgence as of late, thanks to the internet craze. AC
This dance inducing double bill pairs the Post Street Rhythm Peddlers, a New Orleans-style trad jazz combo, with the country western honky tonkers of Whiskey West. A seven-piece band featuring a tight cast of Santa Cruz stalwarts, the Rhythm Peddlers combine the low-down growls and riffs of brass with the searing, propulsive lines of a string band. ANDREW GILBERT
“Enjoy the mystery,” Eric Morrison’s bio ominously states. The local musician isn’t quite so ambiguous when he straps on a guitar and sings his heart out. He and his backing band have become one of the most talented American roots rock acts in Santa Cruz. Americana Soul, they call it, which is a fancy way of saying that there’s a little bit of blues, some swamp rock, some country influences, and a healthy heaping of R&B. AC
Local reggae band Soulwise will release their debut record, Good Day, at Moe’s on Friday. It’s a meditative, laid-back reggae record. The single “Paradise” includes a ton of slow motion underwater shots in its music video; the scenery is gorgeous, and the speed of the cameras is never beyond a snail’s pace. It really captures the vibe of the music, which I call “yoga pose.” The group, led by cousins Sean and Kevin Eichhorn, has been working the local scene hard for the past few years, even getting some success on the iTunes reggae charts. They are hoping this record will launch them into a whole new stratosphere. AC
For years, Led Zeppelin reunion rumors have left fans dazed and confused, but at this stage it seems like there’s been some communication breakdown. Luckily, Zeppelin Live (formerly Heartbreaker) is here with a whole lotta love! These guys are the premiere Zeppelin cover band, and make audiences throughout California do their best Misty Mountain Hop. Legend says if you close your eyes and open your ears just enough, their music can take you up the stairway to heaven and into the houses of the holy for a mind-expanding journey of what is and what should never be. MAT WEIR
If the descriptor “cosmic honky tonk” makes you sit up and take notice, you’ll want Edge of the West on your musical radar. The Santa Cruz-based band, led by hometown-guitarist-done-good Jim Lewin, bridges genres and cultures as it blends a jam band ethos with American roots grooves and rock ’n’ roll foundation. The members have a collective resume that includes stints with Great American Taxi, New Riders of the Purple Sage and Todd Snider. With set lists that include original tunes and “eclectic covers,” Edge of the West is one of the best-kept secrets of the local music scene. CJ
For more than two decades, Zion I has been a testament to the tenacity of conscious hip-hop. Originally formed in Oakland by Zumbi and Amp Live, they released their 2000 debut album, Mind Over Matter, to critical acclaim. Throughout the years, they continued to delight fans and critics with their ninth album, Shadowboxing, nominated as one of SF Weekly’s “10 Best Bay Area Hip-Hop Records of 2012.” Yet the future remained uncertain when Amp Live announced he would be leaving the duo. But true to form, Zumbi continued to carry the Zion I mantle, releasing The Labyrinth in 2016. MW
Event highlights for the week of December 20, 2017.
Art Seen
‘Oberufer Shepherds Play’
The shepherds from the nativity story never get any credit. No one ever asks what they thought about going to see the birth of Jesus, or of an angel sporadically appearing out of thin air. Plus, the trip to Bethlehem couldn’t have been easy without lights, cars or maps. At least now we can all know and appreciate how they felt, thanks to the Oberufer Play. The sweet, heartwarming play tells Christmas stories from the perspective of shepherds. This year, the annual event includes an entirely new addition of the Paradise Play, and will again feature local performers and musicians.
INFO: 6 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 23. Louden Nelson Community Center, 301 Center St., Santa Cruz. 301-325-1566. Adults $12/Children $8.
Green Fix
First Day Hikes
Start your year off right and take a hike. State parks across the country host First Day Hikes to encourage people to get outside on New Year’s Day, and there are few better places than Big Basin State Park to begin a new year. Big Basin is California’s oldest state park, and the birthplace of efforts to save old-growth redwood forests. For First Day Hikes, there will be a four-mile guided tour to Sempervirens Falls and old-growth redwoods. Don’t forget water, snacks and comfortable shoes, but let your pooches know they have to sit this one out.
INFO: 9 a.m. Monday, Jan. 1. Visitors Center at Big Basin Redwoods State Park. 21600 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek. stateparks.org. 338-8860. Free, parking $10.
If you’ve been searching for an annual dose of Irish culture beyond St. Patrick’s Day, Tomáseen Foley’s “A Celtic Christmas” tour is stopping in Santa Cruz. Now in its 20th season, Foley and UCSC lecturer/alum William Coulter create a show that has roots as old as time—historically far surpassing The Nutcracker and giving the A Christmas Carol a run for its money. The show is set in the 1950s, and is complete with traditional tap dancing, folk music and holiday songs.
INFO: 7:30 p.m. Resource Center for Nonviolence. 612 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. tomaseenfoley.com. 464-9778. $30/$35.
Saturday 12/23
Las Posadas Celebration
Posada means “inn” or “shelter” in Spanish, and Las Posadas is a nine-day Latin-American holiday tradition commemorating the story of Mary and Joseph’s journey to Bethlehem, and their search for a place to stay. Las Posadas is also a reminder that there are thousands around the globe without shelter, and an event to both give thanks and help those in need this holiday season. The event usually begins with a candle lighting and Christmas carols, and includes reenactments of the story and biblical imagery. Of course, there are tamales, music and dancing, too.
INFO: 6 p.m. Calvary Episcopal Church, 532 Center St., Santa Cruz. cityofsantacruz.com. Free.
Wow your coworkers, family and friends with your unparalleled macaron baking talents as you learn how to make the cute meringue-filled cookies that are the epitome of French dessert elegance—and ideal for any holiday party or stocking stuffer. They will be free of artificial coloring and flavors, since attendees will use superfoods to color and flavor their cookies. This workshop is sure to please any gluten-free guests, and you will come away with a box of your very own treats.
INFO: 6 p.m. New Leaf Community Market, 1101 Fair Ave., Santa Cruz. newleaf.com/events. $38.
This year gave us no shortage of facepalm-inspiring, occasionally heartwarming, and often just downright weird local stories. Here’s a month-by-month review of the news that confused, amused, inspired and terrified us
By Maria Grusauskas, Georgia Johnson, Steve Palopoli, Jacob Pierce and Lily Stoicheff
JANUARY
IT RAINED SO HARD, WE ALMOST RAN OUT OF WATER
Under the pressure of a daily average of three or more inches of rain, the Newell Creek Pipeline in Henry Cowell State Park cracked on Jan. 9, leaking more than 1,500 gallons of water per minute—about 90,000 gallons total—before it was fixed. The leak pushed Santa Cruz into emergency water restrictions, forcing many to cut back on laundry and dishwashing while staring longingly at all of the water falling outside.
I TAWT I TAW A PUSSY HAT! I DID! I DID!
In the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, a sea of pink pussy hats took Santa Cruz—and the entire country—by storm. An estimated 10,000 people marched across downtown Santa Cruz on Jan. 21, advocating for women’s rights. The march was a part of a larger national movement, encompassing a turnout ofnearly 5 million at more than 600 locations worldwide—and it took the cake for the largest single-day protest in U.S. history. Santa Cruz, along with San Francisco and Sacramento, looks to host the 2018 Women’s March next month, to grab ’em by the patriarchy.
FEBRUARY
THAT LAST PART SEEMED PRETTY HEARTWARMING UNTIL WE REALIZED COMMUTERS ON HIGHWAY 17 ARE DRIVING AROUND WITH CHAINSAWS FOR SOME REASON
The onslaught of storms in February brought the county’s transportation infrastructure to its knees, filling our social media feeds with dramatic stories of Mother Nature vs. People Trying to Drive. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, a blue van fell into a sinkhole when the driver, who was luckily uninjured in the crash, failed to see that most of the mountain road in front of him had washed away. Later that month, a redwood tree fell across Highway 17 near the summit, blocking all four lanes. But, in an act of spontaneous teamwork, weather-weary drivers emerged from their cars with chainsaws and began clearing the tree away themselves. By the time emergency crews got there, they were working side by side with commuters, and together cleared the tree within an hour.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, YOUR TAX DOLLARS AT WORK
Raids conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, in Santa Cruz ostensibly targeted members of the international MS-13 gang, but led to a dispute with the SCPD after eyewitnesses reported that some of those apprehended were immigrants not associated with the gang. Then-Chief Kevin Vogel accused the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, of lying about the nature of the raids, and said the agency had “acted outside the scope of operation” by removing individuals based on their immigration status, unbeknownst to SCPD. Federal officials denied this, saying that SCPD knew about the immigration aspect all along. In addition to 10 gang members, 11 individuals were detained for immigration violations and all but one was eventually released.
MARCH
THIS STORY BETTER HAVE A HAPPY ENDING THIS STORY BETTER HAVE A HAPPY ENDING THIS STORY BETTER HAVE A HAPPY ENDING
OK, so, like, it had been raining hard AF all winter, and everybody in the San Lorenzo Valley was like OMFG ENOUGH WITH THE MUDSLIDES ALREADY. So when word got out on Facebook that Boulder Creek resident Beth Cole’s blind yellow lab Sage was missing, everybody was like, “Oh, hell no! We cannot deal with this lost blind dog right now! Universe, if you kill this supes sweet squinty-eyed doggie we are not going to be able to hold it together!” But, because social media can be awesome, the rescue post went viral on Facebook and eight days later … Sage was found! Savage, ammirite? A neighbor saw her in a stream and carried her out of the canyon on his strong, manly shoulders, along with the weight of all of our hopes and dreams.
APRIL
GIANT KITTY RESCUED FROM TREE
It was early on a Thursday morning when, to the horror of sleepy stroller-pushers and coffee sippers, Santa Cruz’s favorite native feline made an appearance in an East Cliff shopping center. Perched in a tree, the juvenile mountain lion was likely more afraid of its spectators than they were of him, but his presence alone was enough to shut down Del Mar Elementary and Shoreline Middle School and keep residents in their homes for around three hours. Eventually, he was tranquilized and released back into the wild the same day. Aww, he didn’t even rip anybody’s face off! Good kitty!
THIS IS NO WAY TO CELEBRATE LEGALIZATION, PEOPLE
The annual 4/20 gathering at UCSC is one of the largest of its kind in the country, with thousands making their way to UCSC’s Porter Meadows every year for the unsanctioned event. This year, however, turnout was way, way down, with only 2,000 compared to 3,000 last year. Are students less interested in smoking weed, or is the $100,000 police presence killing their buzz? To put it another way: are students less interested in police presence, or is the $100,000 buzz killing their smoking weed? Also, have you ever really looked at your toes? They’re so weird. They just sit there and toe. Toe, toe, toe. It’s kind of a funny word, right? Toooooooe.
HARBOR HOOKER HAPPY
Alix Tichelman, aka the Santa Cruz Harbor Hooker, was convicted of manslaughter and prostitution in 2015, after giving a Google executive a deadly heroin dose while aboard his Santa Cruz yacht in November 2013, where she had been hired as a prostitute. After being released early from Santa Cruz County Jail on March 29, 2017 for good behavior, Tichelman, who is Canadian, was picked up by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, on March 30. Shortly after, a judge ruled that she be deported to her native land, and forced to endure the perils of free universal health care and the progressive and sexy leadership of Justin Trudeau. Asked if she would appeal, Tichelman replied, “Nah.”
MAY
THE ONLY PEOPLE IN SANTA CRUZ WHO DON’T WANT TO GET HIGH
Activist groupSave Santa Cruz formed in opposition to higher and denser new housing developments and density along Santa Cruz’s main thoroughfares—the kind of buildings that city planners have proposed in the pursuit of more affordable housing. Could it be that this whole time, the true threat to our coastal city hasn’t been housing prices, exorbitant rents or the forced exodus of service workers, teachers and artists, but in fact four-story buildings? Save us, Save Santa Cruz. Save us all!
STUDENT OCCUPATION AT UCSC IGNORED BY ADMINISTRATION FOR 10,000TH STRAIGHT … WAIT, WHAT? IT WORKED?
“This should lead to a quick and decisive victory,” said absolutely no one when UCSC’s Afrikan/Black Student Caucus took over the campus’s main administrative building. Yet two days later, the activists were clearing out, after the news that Chancellor George Blumenthal hadagreed to all of their demands, including a four-year housing guarantee to students from underrepresented communities who apply to live in the Rosa Parks African American Theme House. The school even agreed to paint that house red, gold and green. Most successful camping trip ever!
JUNE
SANTA CRUZ MOURNS LOSS OF LAST MAN WHO COULD TRULY PULL OFF AN EYEPATCH
Wetsuit innovator and all-around badass Jack O’Neill passed away on June 2, at the age of 94, and a little bit of Santa Cruz’s soul went with him. Despite creating a brand that is perhaps the most recognizable in surfing today, he will be remembered first and foremost as a spiritual leader of the lifestyle. Then again, how could he not, when he said so many things about surfing that are destined to be immortal, like “You just get one wave, and everything’s OK” and “The three most important things in life: surf, surf, and surf.”
BECAUSE IT’S WAY MORE FUN TO ARGUE ABOUT PARKING THAN LIBRARIES
In June, the city’s advisory committee began public meetings to discuss the future of the downtown library, after local voters passed the $25 million bond Measure S. A proposal for a mixed-use parking garage slash library on Cathcart and Cedar streets caused a stir, including from a few local businesses who don’t like the idea of living in the new shadow of a looming six-story building. If the plan goes through, several heritage Magnolia trees, which currently offer bird habitat and a shade canopy over the downtown Farmers Market, would have to be cut down. No word on whether they would be made into books that could then be checked out from the new library.
JULY
OBVIOUS SHARK EXPERT IS OBVIOUS
Santa Cruz shut down its beaches for four days in July and made national headlines after a Great White shark ripped through a kayak about a quarter mile from Steamer Lane—a few days after surfers in Jack O’Neill’s memorial paddle out spotted a 15-foot Great White breaching the surface. The kayaker, Steve Lawson, was knocked into the water, and describes swimming around in a panic for about 10 minutes, wondering if the shark would return for him. It did not, and the uninjured Lawson told the media he’d be returning to the water. His kayak? Not so much, thanks to a 12-inch bite mark. Sean Van Sommeran, executive director of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation confirmed that it “looks like something a white shark might do.”
THESE PEOPLE JUST DON’T WANT TO WORK, EXCEPT THAT THEY TOTALLY WANT TO WORK
Since July, the Santa Cruz’s downtown corridor, San Lorenzo river levees and Main and Cowell beaches have been looking particularly polished, while the typical anti-homeless stereotypes have been looking kind of shabby. It’s all thanks to the yellow-shirted crews of the Central Coast’s very first Downtown Streets Team (DST), organized by Executive Director (Just) Chip of the Downtown Association. DST takes a multi-tiered approach to ending homelessness, and includes peer-to-peer outreach and case management, food and gift cards in exchange for debris-clearing, and beautifying the community five days a week.
AUGUST
AAAAHHHHH! FOGNADO! OH NO! IT’S SO SCARY, BUT ALSO FUN AND REFRESHING!
Local mainstream media outlets collectively lost their minds when a wall of fog was filmed moving quickly onto Natural Bridges State Beach on Aug. 2. This may have something to do with the fact that part of the impressive video posted online was obviously sped up, or perhaps it simply triggered memories of John Carpenter’s classic 1980 horror film The Fog. However, as the cloud of visible water droplets passed over the beach (which took, in real time, about two minutes) it was revealed to contain neither vengeful ghost sailors nor Jamie Lee Curtis. Seen on both the West and East sides of Santa Cruz, the formation was dubbed “fognado”—despite having absolutely no tornado-like qualities—by super-bored meteorologists, who later admitted it was just an arcus cloud, commonly known as a “roll cloud.”
MAN EXPERIMENTS WITH NEW WAY TO REPORT DRUNK DRIVERS BY DRIVING INTO ‘REPORT DRUNK DRIVERS’ SIGN
An intoxicated 57-year-old man was driving south on Highway 1 around Buena Vista Drive on Aug. 16 when he smashed into a sign reading “Report Drunk Drivers.” Officers who reached Stephen DeWitt at the scene of the collision—which caused his jeep to flip and land upside-down—charged him with a DUI. DeWitt was expected to be ordered to undergo counseling through Ironic Alcoholics Anonymous.
YOU SAY O-MY, I SAY O-MAY, LET’S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF
Quick, name the absolute worst U.S. political figure you could donate money to! Right, David Duke—that’s what we were thinking! Actually, that’s what all of Santa Cruz was thinking after the website Indybay discovered that Roger Grigsby, owner of the Chinese Restaurant O’mei, had done just that, contributing $500 to the former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan’s Senate bid. Local furor over the revelation caused Grigsby to apologize profusely and admit it had been a terrible, terrible mistake. Just kidding! Instead, Grigsby shut down the 38-year-old restaurant and posted a sign in the window blaming the outrage over the donation he gave to a virulently racist Holocaust denier—a donation anyone could review by clicking through the Federal Election Commission’s website—on “slanderous and malicious internet rumors.” He later said in a statement to KPIX that there is a “war on whites” and that “my campaign contribution was to one of the men supporting European civil rights”—causing even that one contrarian guy who always shows up to your party and says, “Well, maybe there’s a reasonable explanation for this” to be like, “OK, never mind, he’s a douchebag.”
SEPTEMBER
DIRT MADE MY LUNCH … THEN RUINED MY COMMUTE AND CREATED MY ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARD
Ever see a big rig on local mountain roads and think “Wow, how do they navigate those winding curves?” Well, sometimes the answer is “very badly.” Like on Sept. 26, for instance, when a sand truck with two loaded trailers overturned on East Zayante Road in Felton, spilling 27 tons of sand and closing the route for hours. Famed local sand artist Jim Denevan was immediately called in as an emergency responder, and transformed the entire mess into a poignant tribute to farm-to-table dining. That’s what we wish had happened, anyway. In reality, along with the sand, the truck dumped 100 gallons of diesel fuel into Zayante Creek.
OCTOBER
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS GO UP IN SMOKE, ALONG WITH SUSPECT’S DEFENSE STRATEGY
SANTA CRUZ ENDS ITS LONGEST-RUNNING, MOST POINTLESS GAME OF TAG
When new SCPD Chief Andy Mills arrived in August, it was clear he wanted to make some changes. The biggest so far has been changing the way the city polices its homeless population, which for decades has amounted to maintaining a camping ban and chasing them from place to place, tagging them with tickets that are not worth the paper they’re printed on. When Mills announced SCPD would temporarily no longer cite campers in San Lorenzo Park during nighttime hours, some locals expressed disgust with the homeless camp that arose in the benchlands in November. But at the same time, the strangest coalition Santa Cruz has seen in quite some time arose, too: residents from all sides of the political spectrum who would rather try something—anything—than be stuck with the failed status quo. The site evolved into 58 15×15 camping spaces, and while it has been criticized for everything from public safety risks to its environmental impact, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have yet to ride through the duck pond. Last week, the city announced it will move the homeless encampment to Harvey West Park in January.
NOVEMBER
INCREASED CULTURAL AWARENESS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN SOMEHOW LEADS TO CUTS IN WOMEN’S SELF-DEFENSE CLASSES IN SANTA CRUZ, BECAUSE, LET’S FACE IT, THIS COUNTRY IS LIKE TWO YEARS AWAY FROM ‘THE HANDMAID’S TALE’
Santa Cruz’s Commission for the Prevention of Violence Against Women, which has been offering free women’s self-defense classes for more than 35 years, announced they would be significantly cutting back the number of classes offered in 2018. The commission blamed the cuts on declining enrollment for the classes, though CPVAW co-founder Gillian Greensite told GT in a Nov. 22 story that there have always been fluctuations in class size. Nor will the class cuts save money, which is expected to be redirected toward as-yet-unspecified efforts to educate men and boys. “Only the rapist can prevent rape,” CPVAW chair Brooke Newman told GT. While we see the deeper philosophical point here, let’s not entirely rule out women empowered with the skill to land a crippling kick to the nuts.
DECEMBER
ELTON JOHN TO DUET WITH NARWHALS ON NEW VERSION OF ‘DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART’
UCSC biologist Terrie Williams discovered that narwhals, the cute, unicorn-like whales name-checked in the movie Elf and the song “Rock Lobster,”plunge to unfathomable depths to escape fishing nets and other human activity. While hiding from noisy vessels, their heart rates drop to a frighteningly low three or four beats per minute, Williams discovered, in findings that he published in Science, and which werelater picked up by the Washington Post and NPR. As a matter of fact, their heart rates get so low that Williams doesn’t even know how the Arctic animals are getting enough oxygen, and he worries they may suffer damage to their brains or other organs. So knock it off, big Arctic ship captains! When the narwhal was down, it was your clown. But right from the start, it gave you its heart …
THESE PLANS FOR THE OLD CEMENT PLANT COULD REALLY TAKE OFF
The days of the Cemex plant’s dusty smoke billowing over the town of Davenport are long gone, but so are the decent-paying middle class jobs that went with it. Now Santa Cruz County economic developers areworking on a plan to bring in a new project, and hope to put together a, er, concrete proposal. But it may be no easy sell, as a winning idea needs support from the community, county staff and county supervisors, who would have to purchase the property from the Mexico-based cement company. Onepopular idea is that the site could become the new headquarters for a local aviation company. No one knows how exactly that will take off, but we’re hoping that, if it does, it involves lots of funny scarves, leather caps and oversized goggles. Is it too early to ask for a jetpack?
The shepherds from the nativity story never get any credit. No one ever asks what they thought about going to see the birth of Jesus, or of an angel sporadically appearing out of thin air. Plus, the trip to Bethlehem couldn’t have been easy without lights, cars or maps. At least now we can all know and appreciate how they felt, thanks to the Oberufer Play. The sweet, heartwarming play tells Christmas stories from the perspective of shepherds. This year, the annual event includes an entirely new addition of the Paradise Play, and will again feature local performers and musicians. 
If you’ve been searching for an annual dose of Irish culture beyond St. Patrick’s Day, Tomáseen Foley’s “A Celtic Christmas” tour is stopping in Santa Cruz. Now in its 20th season, Foley and UCSC lecturer/alum William Coulter create a show that has roots as old as time—historically far surpassing 
In the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration, a sea of pink pussy hats took Santa Cruz—and the entire country—by storm. An estimated 10,000 people 
The onslaught of storms in February brought the county’s transportation infrastructure to its knees, filling our social media feeds with dramatic stories of Mother Nature vs. People Trying to Drive. In the Santa Cruz Mountains, a blue van fell into a sinkhole when the driver, who was luckily uninjured in the crash, failed to see that most of the mountain road in front of him had washed away. Later that month, a redwood tree fell across Highway 17 near the summit, blocking all four lanes. But, in an act of spontaneous teamwork, weather-weary drivers emerged from their cars with chainsaws and began clearing the tree away themselves. By the time emergency crews got there, they were working side by side with commuters, and together cleared the tree within an hour.
OK, so, like, it had been raining hard AF all winter, and everybody in the San Lorenzo Valley was like OMFG ENOUGH WITH THE MUDSLIDES ALREADY. So when word got out on Facebook that Boulder Creek resident Beth Cole’s blind yellow lab Sage was missing, everybody was like, “Oh, hell no! We 
The annual 4/20 gathering at UCSC is one of the largest of its kind in the country, with thousands making their way to UCSC’s Porter Meadows every year for the unsanctioned event. This year, however, turnout was way, way down, with only 2,000 compared to 3,000 last year. Are students less interested in smoking weed, or is the $100,000 police presence killing their buzz? To put it another way: are students less interested in police presence, or is the $100,000 buzz killing their smoking weed? Also, have you ever really looked at your toes? They’re so weird. They just sit there and toe. Toe, toe, toe. It’s kind of a funny word, right? Toooooooe.
Activist group
Wetsuit innovator and all-around badass 
Santa Cruz shut down its beaches for four days in July and made national headlines after a Great White shark ripped through a kayak about a quarter mile from Steamer Lane—a few days after surfers in Jack O’Neill’s memorial paddle out spotted a 15-foot Great White breaching the surface. The kayaker, Steve Lawson, was knocked into the water, and describes swimming around in a panic for about 10 minutes, wondering if the shark would return for him. It did not, and the uninjured Lawson told the media he’d be returning to the water. His kayak? Not so much, thanks to a 12-inch bite mark. Sean Van Sommeran, executive director of the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation confirmed that it “looks like something a white shark might do.”
Local mainstream media outlets collectively lost their minds when a wall of fog was filmed moving quickly onto Natural Bridges State Beach on Aug. 2. This may have something to do with the fact that part of the impressive video posted online was obviously sped up, or perhaps it simply triggered memories of John Carpenter’s classic 1980 horror film 
Ever see a big rig on local mountain roads and think “Wow, how do they navigate those winding curves?” Well, sometimes the answer is “very badly.” Like on Sept. 26, for instance, when a sand truck with two loaded trailers overturned on East Zayante Road in Felton, spilling 27 tons of sand and closing the route for hours. Famed local sand artist Jim Denevan was immediately called in as an emergency responder, and transformed the entire mess into a poignant tribute to farm-to-table dining. That’s what we 
UCSC biologist Terrie Williams discovered that narwhals, the cute, unicorn-like whales name-checked in the movie 
The days of the Cemex plant’s dusty smoke billowing over the town of Davenport are long gone, but so are the decent-paying middle class jobs that went with it. Now Santa Cruz County economic developers are
