Page 878 | Good Times

How Mountain Bikers Beat Heroin Hill

Cover Stories

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March 28, 2017

Today is a “Dig Day,” in the parlance of the Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz group, but there is no digging just yet. Just coffee, and pastries, and a curious assemblage of people that look a little like local skateboard groms, and a lot like aging surfers. This is Santa Cruz, after all.

To one side, the hardcore are discussing the day’s suspension settings and the latest bling for their megabuck ’niners. Before the day is over, there will be seven hours of sweat, dirt, laughter, sore muscles, and maybe even blood. And, this being Santa Cruz, there will be local microbrews at the end, to celebrate a job well done.

Welcome to a typical day of trail work with the Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBoSC). It’s one of the hallmarks of the pioneering advocacy group, which is celebrating its 20th year as a fixture in this fat-tire-infatuated community.

Over the years, the group has done what no one ever expected a cycling group to do, helping build trails in the hyper-regulated California State Park system, and linking to the UC Santa Cruz campus. They’ve made successful diplomatic forays to equestrian and hiking groups, marshaled hundreds of people to attend city council meetings and engage in letter-writing campaigns, conducted mountain bike festivals, and even hosted a race, called the Old Cabin Classic, in a local state park.

In 2013, they earned the respect of local law enforcement for helping to eradicate a problematic drug hangout deep in the forest—by building a mountain bike trail straight through the middle of it. Earlier this year, they marshaled their considerable resources to begin construction of a pedestrian-only trail in a local park, purely as a goodwill gesture.

When it comes to mountain bike advocacy, says Geoffrey Smith, one of the group’s first presidents, the MBoSC has succeeded by “being the adults in the room”—even if they may not always look like it.

Making a Connection

With its redwood forests that reach nearly unimpeded to the sea, Santa Cruz County was a magnet for mountain bikers from the sport’s earliest days. When the MBoSC was formed in ’97, “there were no legal trails at all” in the county, remembers Smith. For mountain bikers, it was a pleasing kind of anarchy—ride anywhere, obey no one, have fun. But it couldn’t last.

In ’99, the opportunity to get on the right side of history presented itself: plans were developed to create the U-Con (short for University Connector) trail, bridging bucolic Highway 9 and the lush expanses of UCSC.

In an emerging model of cooperation, MBoSC partnered with local landowners Bud and Emma McCrary, the Santa Cruz County Horseman’s Association, and the Association of Concerned Trailriders to construct the short, multi-use trail.

For Smith and MBoSC, the U-Con trail was a major milestone. “It was the first legal singletrack in Santa Cruz,” he says. “And it was a good model for what was to come.”

“I will always be proud of the Emma McCrary trail. It changed everything for mountain biking in Santa Cruz.” — Mark Davidson

Having attained a level of political legitimacy, the group’s next opportunity came from an unexpected place. For years, the city of Santa Cruz had grappled with a seemingly intractable problem: a scenic and remote hillside above Highway 9 had been taken over by drug users and traffickers. Nicknamed “Heroin Hill,” the spot was within the former golf club and polo grounds of the Pogonip. In one famous photograph, a heroin needle is shown unceremoniously jabbed into a redwood tree.

“People were coming from all over the state to score cheap heroin,” says Mark Davidson, MBoSC president from 2003 until 2015. “What the city of Santa Cruz really wanted was to take it off the map.”

MBoSC, working with the parks department, came up with a solution that would benefit not only the city, but also local mountain bikers hungry for new singletrack. What drug users hate most is for the full light of day to shine on their clandestine activities, and that’s exactly what MBoSC proposed, in the form of an undulating trail right through the middle of Heroin Hill. The trail, completed in 2013, exposed the infamous area, and its drug trade, to the unrelenting glare of dozens of people, every day. To ride it now, you wouldn’t know it was ever Heroin Hill.

If ever there was redeeming social value to the sport of mountain biking, the Emma McCrary Trail was it. “We didn’t have an answer” for the blight of Heroin Hill, remembers Santa Cruz Police Deputy Chief Dan Flippo. “But through the Emma McCrary Trail, we pushed the illegal activities out.”

The “EMT,” as it became known, was also a turning point for the engine that members say will drive future MBoSC projects: trail work. In creating the trail, MBoSC marshaled more than 300 volunteers, who devoted more than 3,500 hours of work.

“I will always be proud of the Emma McCrary trail,” says Davidson. “It changed everything for mountain biking in Santa Cruz.”

Digging Deeper

santa cruz mountain biking mark davidson — **DIY RIDE** Mark Davidson, one of MBoSC’s first presidents, on his favorite of Pogonip’s many trails, which he helped to build. PHOTO: KEANA PARKER

I’m riding the EMT with MBoSC’s Matt De Young, but his mind is elsewhere. De Young, a geography major in college, knows these trails as well as the shifters on his ’niner. It’s been a historically wet winter in California, and while he seems to be enjoying the day, he’s immediately and irrevocably distracted—thinking about work crews, French drains, shoring up berms, and trail rerouting.

As the MBoSC’s sole paid employee, the indefatigable 30-year-old can be variously found riding the trails, attending meetings, leading Dig Days or training trail workers and crew leaders. The guy is everywhere, and works with passion. Perhaps that’s why the EMT is no mere trail—it’s art.

“People think the ‘government’ does this,” says De Young. “They don’t always realize that volunteers are out there working every weekend.”

In the group’s worldview, caring for trails is an integral part of procuring trails. Once you’re invested—through sweat, blood, and perhaps a few days of feverous itching from the ubiquitous Northern California poison oak—you begin to feel differently about the places you ride every day. You may even go so far as to write a letter to a local politician, attend a city council meeting, or convert a renegade, illegal-trail-building friend into a responsible trail user.

In other words, Dig Days are where trails and trail advocates are built, one shovelful at a time.

Finding Their Flow

After establishing the Emma McCrary trail, a new challenge emerged: to accommodate riders seeking a more intense riding experience. The Soquel Demonstration Forest, a yawning 3,000-acre plot of land on the spine of the Santa Cruz Mountains, was the perfect candidate. The area, adjacent to Silicon Valley, was already a popular destination for avid mountain bikers from the likes of Google, Apple, and Facebook, eager to bust out of their dull cubicles. These riders, taking advantage of the new breed of long-travel suspension bikes, tended to like their riding like their coffee—in strong doses.

“We didn’t have enough legal trails to satisfy that user group,” says Davidson. “And we knew the Soquel Demonstration Forest could supply a more aggressive riding experience.”

The MBoSc found an ally in Angela Bernheisel, Calfire Forest Supervisor. The proposed route, to be known as the “Flow Trail,” would be “unlike anything else in the Calfire system,” Bernheisel says. Nonetheless, she remembers encountering a lot of skepticism about the project.

“It was a huge undertaking for our small staff. It took a lot of money and work, and MBoSC brought that to the table. The Flow Trail never would have been possible without them,” she says.

Davidson, De Young, and trail builder extraordinaire Drew Perkins, threw themselves into the project. Environmental statements were produced, and trail designs underwent numerous iterations. Ibis Cycles raffled off a new mountain bike to help raise funds. Then, in a stroke of good fortune, a wealthy Facebook employee riding in the forest with his family saw signs soliciting donations for the project. He matched the current fundraising amount—about $45,000—out of his own pocket. Suddenly, the club had $90,000 in hand for the Flow Trail construction. Over the course of two years, thanks to De Young, Perkins, and more than 10,000 hours of volunteer time, the four-mile project became reality.

When it opened in 2015, the trail immediately exceeded anyone’s expectations. By unanimous consent, the elusive “feel” had been achieved. It also exceeded anyone’s expectations for popularity. “After the trail first opened, you would see 150 cars parked at the Demo Forest,” says Perkins. “It was a good feeling, that people were enjoying our work.” A counter was installed on the trail that recorded up to 600 trips per weekend.

Battles Over Biking

Santa Cruz City Council meetings are a place where you are as likely to discuss LGBTQ issues as water quality and low-income housing. But on Feb. 7, the meeting is mostly about one thing: a new, downhill-only mountain bike trail being proposed for the Pogonip.

MBoSC has mobilized the brethren, and the room is so full it needs to be partially evacuated by fire marshals. But while speaker after speaker advocates for the trail, some groups are less sanguine. A few hikers and dog walkers raise legal technicalities in an attempt to have the idea scuttled. Others argue from a more visceral point of view: they simply don’t want to see mountain bikers on trails, ever.

It’s a debate that’s played out in hundreds of similar venues across the country. But here, there’s a difference: MBoSC has embedded itself in every step of the process: from letter-writing campaigns, to trail building efforts, to fundraising and scientific studies.

Ultimately, the group’s purpose is not to battle with other user groups, members say, but to win them over with logic and calm. It’s what past president Smith calls the “steady drip-drip” of progress for mountain bikers.

Debbie Boscoe, board member of the Santa Cruz County Horsemen’s Association, considers herself a onetime detractor who was won over by the MBoSC. The equestrian group regularly uses the Santa Cruz trail system, to the tune of hundreds of miles per year. It also conducts the Fireworks Endurance Ride, a 30-50-mile event that traverses Henry Cowell, Pogonip, UCSC, and Wilder Ranch parks.

In other words, they use the same trails that are beloved by every mountain biker within 100 miles. Early on, trouble between the two groups was practically inevitable.

“Things were not good,” says Boscoe. “Mountain bikers would rip trail markers off trees during the big ride. Relations were at such a low, I thought we couldn’t do it anymore.”

In a remarkable gesture of détente, the two groups created the “Carrot Fest” where mountain bikers were enlisted to carefully encircle a group of horses, and gently proffer carrots. The diplomatic foray was a revelation to both sides. “Now,” says Debbie, “horses will go over to mountain bikers, expecting a reward.” It was the beginning of a kind of armistice between the groups, which continues to this day.

MBoSC has reached out to other groups, too. It recently marshaled its resources to help build a pedestrian-only trail leading to a new outdoor Shakespeare theater in the Pogonip. Though a bike will never traverse the trail, mountain bikers will almost certainly benefit from it.

“I appreciate MBoSC contributing volunteer hours to the trail,” says Meta Rhodeos, Santa Cruz field supervisor for Parks and Recreation. “They showed they’re about trails—and not just biking trails.”

Local hiking groups such as Friends of the Pogonip, also known as Pogonip Watch, routinely battle the MBoSC. The organization’s website is emblazoned with red type calling out what they perceive as mountain bike incursions into hiking land and illegal trail construction. Indeed, there is no doubt that scofflaw mountain bikers construct illegal trails in state parks throughout the county—an activity that MBoSC is trying to combat.

Former Santa Cruz mayor and environmental lawyer Celia Scott is one resident who routinely speaks out against expanding trail access to mountain bikers. At the City Council meeting, a good share of the 50 public comments were in opposition to the new trail at Pogonip—an opposition led by Scott.

“We don’t support mountain biking in Pogonip,” she says. “When I was mayor, the U-Con mountain bike trail was created. And more recently, there was the Emma McCrary Trail. Now there is a proposal from the city and the mountain biking community to build at least three more mountain bike trails in Pogonip. In our view, that is too much.”

Scott says she is not anti-cycling, but that she wants to protect what she sees as the “crown jewel” of the Santa Cruz greenbelt.

“There is a lot of damage caused by mountain biking, and a large number of illegal trails. Other users—hikers and people walking with children—get displaced by mountain bikers on singletrack trails,” she says. “I love bicycles, but that is not the issue. The issue is how to take care of open space lands that we are very blessed to have.”

However its political fortunes may shift, the mountain biking community in Santa Cruz—like almost everywhere in the country—is also battling a problem from within: there are more riders than there are resources to accommodate them. And as many successes as they have had expanding access for cyclists, there are future challenges. The 10,000-acre Nisene Marks remains problematic for mountain bikers, thanks to a highly restrictive family deed and a host of user groups vying for access. Other land access opportunities are on the horizon, too, including the newly designated Coast Dairy National Monument, and the San Vicente Redwoods. No one knows where the discussions on these properties will go, but thanks to their track record on these issues, the MBoSC will have a “seat at the table,” as Smith likes to say.

The way forward won’t be easy. At times, it may even be ugly, in the way that all political battles inevitably are. But, thanks to the MBoSC, it’s likely to reach peaceful conclusions. They won’t get everything they want. But they won’t come up empty-handed, either.

“Our biggest challenge is bringing mountain biking into the mainstream, in the eyes of land managers and other users,” says De Young. “Mountain biking developed as an outlaw sport, and that shaped the culture. Now we’re seeing things change.”

Creator of ‘The Witch’ Sees Video Games as Expressive Art Pieces

A&E
Art

Christina Waters

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March 28, 2017

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Creator of ‘The Witch’ Sees Video Games as Expressive Art Pieces

Elizabeth Swensen is a willowy blonde with a degree in Classics, an alto singing voice and a sly smile. She’s also an IndieCade-award-winning game designer, designated an entrepreneur to watch in Forbes magazine’s “30 under 30” a few years back. Brand-new in her current gig as Assistant Professor of Art and Design at UCSC, Swensen’s games explore narrative structures—how the ability to change a game’s storyline affects the player’s emotional response. In other words, she’s interested in interactive gaming beyond the world of competitive violence.

“Oh, I love the violent video games too,” she chuckles. “I grew up with them.” But her current projects are distinctly educational and interactive. “I’m interested in creating a mix of physical and installation games,” she reveals, showing me images from a recent project on her computer. Board games, card sets, and books—including Alice in Wonderland—line one wall of her office overlooking UCSC’s music building and the ocean beyond. “I’m sort of a jack of all trades as far as games go,” Swensen admits. But she clearly favors physical games—they often begin as cards before they’re translated into more costly digital form—games that offer choices, that send the players to dictionaries, which in turn generate new role options.

“My underlying interest is self-expression, absolutely,” she says. “Absolutely” is a frequent Swensenism. “I define games as expressive art pieces that someone is engaged in with another participant.”

So games for her aren’t necessarily rule-governed. In Swensen’s game world, winning and losing might not be as important as emotional outcomes.

Growing up in Sonoma, Swensen played “a lot of video games. But we played outdoors too, and made up our own games. All children are game designers,” she believes, making up rules to make-believe games. After studying Classics at Willamette University—“I loved Latin poetry”—chance conversation with a colleague on a visit to Prague led to her consider video games seriously. She applied to the Interactive Media MFA program at USC. “I got accepted and just jumped at it,” she says.

Like most game designers, Swensen can program. “I can do basic scripting tasks, but my real expertise is in narrative and experience design,” she says. Her process can begin with a series of experiments and prototypes. Sometimes just simple shapes, figures, or cards out of paper. “Then we ask what the player can do in the game. We need a playable idea. We might practice a role-playing situation. Here we begin to get into the aesthetics of play. The games are competitive yet with an emotional outcome,” she explains.

Once the game has been tested, “you begin digitizing. That takes the most people—animators, artists, engineers. And depending upon the game, you might need a sound designer, or a composer, user interface design, character design.” And for all that you need graduate student assistants and money.

“In my work I’m targeting different expressive outcomes, not just violence. There’s already market saturation in that area,” she laughs. “The ecosystem of games is broad, but not as broad as it could be. I’m interested in how we can use games for social outcomes. I tend to make games for readers. Think visual novels that invite moral decisions, rather than games about racing and shooting.”

Her Master’s project was a celebrated iPad creation called “The Witch,” a role-playing game in which players take the role of a girl who has been labeled as a witch. Identity construction in an interactive context. Swensen’s interest in learning games led to “Application Crunch,” which helps introduce underserved middle school students to strategies for college planning. The cards offer opportunities, but they can also specify disasters. The player has to learn to make choices in order to juggle time and opportunities. Like life.

After five years as a researcher with the Game Innovation Lab at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, Swensen left that dream job last year to come to UCSC, partly because the game design program was not in Engineering, but in the Arts. “That’s unusual,” she observes. “And I wanted to be surrounded by artists and expressive media, not just engineers.”

What’s next? “Well, ‘The Witch’ still haunts me. Right now I’m working on an update to that game,” she says, one that will expand the conversations she’s having about women’s involvement in the sciences and mathematics.

Swensen believes she’s good at her work “because I’m comfortable being a dabbler rather than an expert. I ask questions, I still love the Classics, and I engage in other forms of art, like music. And I love to cook—which is another kind of creative, expressive project,” says the willowy game designer. “I have no private life right now.”

Preview: Carolyn Sills Combo to play Kuumbwa

A&E
Music

Cat Johnson

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March 28, 2017

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Preview: Carolyn Sills Combo to play Kuumbwa

In the late 1920s, Western swing hit the Texas music scene. By the 1930s, Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys were a household name and Western swing was a staple of radio stations and dance halls across the Great Plains. The style offered the danceability and fun of the jazz big bands, but with a twist.

“I always joke that it’s jazz with a cowboy hat,” says Gerard Egan, guitarist for local outfit the Carolyn Sills Combo. “Those guys were as sophisticated as anybody else playing in Benny Goodman’s band or Duke Ellington’s band, but they grew up in Texas or Arkansas and wore cowboy shirts and cowboy boots.”

Western swing, which pulls together elements of country, jazz, blues, polkas and Hawaiian steel guitar, represents an American melting pot. But it remains something of a throwback genre; bands like Asleep at the Wheel and the Hot Club of Cowtown are top-of-mind among contemporary Western swing bands, but the list is short.

Egan believes that the reason the style hasn’t been widely adopted is because it’s hard to play well. Bandleader Carolyn Sills points out that Western swing doesn’t fit into the singer-songwriter focus of folk and country.

“A lot of today’s country is focused on one person singing a song with a guitar,” says Sills. “Western swing is much more of a group dynamic.”

Sills and her combo—comprising Egan, Charlie Joe Wallace on steel guitar, Jim Norris on drums, and Sunshine Jackson on harmony vocals and percussion—isn’t strictly a Western swing band. But the Western swing community recognizes a good thing when they see it. The band was recently nominated for Best Western Swing Group and Best Western Swing Female at the Ameripolitan Awards in Austin for its new album, Dime Stories Vol. 2, which was recorded by Andy Zenczak at Gadgetbox Studios in Santa Cruz.

They didn’t win, but the band members had an unforgettable experience in Austin. They opened for West Texas honkytonk legend James Hand and were called onto the stage at the Continental Club by country icon Dale Watson, who coined the phrase “Ameripolitan” and is the mastermind behind the awards. There were also late-night jams at the local Holiday Inn, where many of the out-of-town bands stayed.

Sills and Egan have been making music together since 1999, when they met at college in Connecticut. As the three of us sit out on the Crepe Place patio, they share stories of bonding over Stevie Ray Vaughan bootlegs and old music. When Egan wanted to attend the Roberto-Venn School of Luthiery in Phoenix, he proposed to Sills, and the two moved from New York City for the six-month program. Egan was offered a job at the Santa Cruz Guitar Company and, three weeks later, Sills was hired to help run the office.

As newcomers to Santa Cruz, the two played small gigs until local promoter Tom Miller took a chance on them, and booked them to play a Patsy Cline tribute show. One hundred or so people attended, and a rising star of the Santa Cruz music scene was born.

Sills and Egan have profound respect for their bandmates. Egan says that at any time on the bandstand he can call out a tune that’s “a Johnny Cash beat, in this key.”

“That’s really magical right there,” he says.

“I have absolute confidence that we can do that to all of them at any time,” agrees Sills.

When asked about being a bass-playing, singing frontwoman in a country band, Sills laughs and admits it’s “like a squirrel wearing clothes.”

“You don’t meet a ton of female bass players, and there are definitely some that can kick my ass,” she says. “But it’s fun. I get respect from people—dudes, as well.”

As Egan sees it, Sills has the hardest role in the band.

“If someone misses a note in a solo, it’s not big deal,” he says. “But bass is rhythm and melody at the same time. If you miss that one note, it’s so obvious. For Carolyn to do that, and sing, and lead the band, she’s taking on many roles at once.”

Even though the Carolyn Sills Combo isn’t strictly Western swing, the members take their role as torchbearers for the genre seriously.

“We’ve gotten that Western swing tag and we love it,” says Egan. “It’s an honor to represent that form of music, the musicians that made it well-known, and how it shaped so much that came after it.

The Carolyn Sills Combo will perform at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 1 at Kuumbwa, 320-2 Cedar St., Santa Cruz. $25/gen, $32/gold. 427-222

Cocktail Hour at Hotel Paradox’s Solaire Restaurant

Christina Waters

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March 28, 2017

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Cocktail Hour at Hotel Paradox’s Solaire Restaurant

Solaire, an elegant landscape of dove-grey upholstery unfurled between the swimming pool and lobby of Hotel Paradox, is graced with more than its share of mood. Especially at the magic hour when the sun begins to lower just enough to splash low light across the sparkling bar.

Such a great spot to unwind, either at the bar or on couches in front of the fireplace, as we did last week. I had my palate set for one of the house signature cocktails and found just the thing in a “Santa Cruz 75,” a generous martini glass full of chilled Venus small batch gin inflected with Prosecco, the haunting nuance of elderflower and the bite of fresh lime. A great rendezvous with a friend, and given the quantity of stylish liquor, a bargain at $12.

Partnering the striking botanicals of this cocktail, we chose the Coconut Prawns with sweet chile sauce ($8) from the “Bar Bites” menu. And what arrived proved to be a luscious, crunchy quartet of fat prawns enfolded in an expert deep-fry of coconut cream batter. The slightly bitter perfume of the gin made a brilliant counterpoint to the slightly sweet coating on the prawns. Haven’t had a fried appetizer this wonderful—served hot from the kitchen—in many years. My companion found her “Equinox” cocktail of vodka, Aperol, elderflower and lemon juice a bit on the sweet side. Beautiful, pale pink in its sugar-rimmed cocktail glass, but I had to admit that my gin-intensive adult beverage was much more refreshing and palate-sparkling. The low light raking across the attractive dining room made for sophisticated eye candy as we sipped. Yes, we agreed, this is the perfect time of day to hit Solaire, where the bartender knows what he’s doing. Solaire, in the Hotel Paradox, 611 Ocean St., Santa Cruz. hotelparadox.com.

Pop a Wheelie:

Food trucks return to Skypark in Scotts Valley this Friday, with a nifty little dinner, drinks, and swing dance party from 5-8 p.m. Swing into Spring will offer complimentary swing lessons, thanks to the pros from Swing Set Lounge, followed by dancing from 6-8 p.m. Take a swing at dancing, or simply sip and sample from the onsite brews and food truck possibilities. Foodtrucksagogo.com will fill you in on this Friday night special. Heads up—Food Trucks A Go Go brings food truck lunches to the Wrigley Building every Thursday, 11 a.m-1:30 p.m. Lots to choose from—check it out.

Brew News

Yay! Humble Sea Brewing Co. opened its Westside taproom last week to the wild acclaim of as many thirsty fans as could fit into the patio/corral that borders Swift Street (a half block up from El Salchichero). The brainchild of Taylor West, Nick Pavlina, and Frank Scott Krueger, the newest house of fresh libations—in an already well-populated saloon neighborhood—will offer tasty matching brew bites and loads of ambience in the Stripe Design Group-finessed taproom. Grand opening coming this summer. Also, chef Brad Briske and his Home team plan a first-ever beer dinner with Corralitos Brewing Co. on Sunday, April 2. Four courses paired with fresh brew. Limited seating—expect astonishing flavors—email in**@********el.com or call 334-2134. Home is where the heart is. It’s also at 3101 N. Main St., Soquel.

Rich and hungry?

Got a spare $255? Then consider joining the fresh fisherfolk from H&H, plus SF chef Jonnatan Leiva, on May 27 at the Secret Sea Cave (North Coast Santa Cruz) installment of Outstanding in the Field’s al fresco dinner series. Need something more expensive? Join the chefs and farmers in Burgundy, France on Aug. 27: bring 245 euros. Details at outstandinginthefield.com.

Jaguar Mexican Provincial Opens in Midtown

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March 28, 2017

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Jaguar Mexican Provincial Opens in Midtown

There’s a lot more variety to Mexican food than we typically see represented in restaurants in the U.S. Every region in Mexico has its own unique characteristics. The kiosk Café Campesino on Pacific Avenue was a local expression of this variety, but because space is limited, there was only so much owner Dina Torres could do. Earlier this year, Torres opened the similarly themed Jaguar Mexican Provisional on Soquel Avenue, in addition to keeping her kiosk open, and she talked to us about her new restaurant.

What inspired you to open Jaguar?

DINA TORRES: I made the decision to open the Jaguar restaurant because people were always asking me to open my own restaurant to eat inside, because many times of the year it’s rainy or windy. I started working on the project for years and years to reach this goal. At Café Campesino, I only serve chicken. It’s a very small place. Here, I’ve added pork, fish, beef and shrimp to expand the menu. I decided to make a new menu here with more choices. I use the menu at Café Campesino for specials.

What’s a new item you have on the menu for Jaguar?

I have entomatado. It’s made with pork chops and a special chunky tomatillo sauce with herbs and chile morita peppers on top. That’s one of my favorites. We serve with Spanish rice, homemade tortilla.

Are you preparing food from any particular region in Mexico?

My menu is all over from different states in Mexico: Oaxaca, Querétaro. Puebla, Mexico City. Yucatán. Nayarit. I’m changing the dishes of the specials. For example, for Valentine’s Day, I served rabbit. It’s from Nayarit, the recipe. It’s rabbit in spicy sauce with spices and herbs and potatoes. My mom made family dinners with amazing dishes. She was very exotic, cooking. She can do whatever. I drove with my parents across my country; that’s why we have different regions’ dishes. In my family, we have a lot of chefs. One of my nephews has a culinary school. My other nephews have bakeries or restaurants.

Tell me about your mole.

My mole is Puebla style. It’s got 31 ingredients. We make the sauce with raisins, walnuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, plantains, many kinds of dried peppers and spices. This is Puebla style.

1116 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz. 600-7428. jaguarrestaurantinc.com.

Organic Legacy of Silver Mountain Vineyards

Josie Cowden

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March 28, 2017

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Organic Legacy of Silver Mountain Vineyards

Silver Mountain Vineyards makes quite a few varietals but is very well known for its Chardonnay. Winemaker Jerold O’Brien was one of the first in the Santa Cruz Mountains to plant 100-percent organically farmed Chardonnay grapes—and this was back in the ’80s, when very few people were thinking “organic.”

The 2013 Chardonnay Santa Cruz Mountains ($34) is all estate-grown and bottled, and made in the style of French Burgundy “to showcase our estate vineyard,” says O’Brien. “The Mount Eden clone is rich in flavor, and hearkens back to Martin Ray and the early days in the Santa Cruz Mountains,” he says of planting his vines a long time ago. And with three decades of experience under his belt, O’Brien certainly knows his vines and his wines. He produces some fabulous Chardonnays—the estate 2013 being no exception. Elegant and complex, it has a beautiful nose of vanilla and citrus peel, with subtle aromas of minerals, pineapple, yellow apple, and delicate herbs. On the palate, this zesty wine is citrusy, creamy and refreshing. I paired it with one of my favorite things to eat, salmon, first enjoying a glass as I cooked it. This Chardonnay also pairs well with many kinds of cheese, especially French Brie.

Silver Mountain Vineyards, 402 Ingalls St., Santa Cruz, 408-353-2278. Open Friday through Sunday. silvermtn.com.

Wine Events: Dare to Pair

Cabrillo College Culinary Arts students are teaming up once more with Surf City Vintners (including Silver Mountain) for the eighth annual Dare to Pair food and wine challenge. The competition will take place from noon to 3 p.m. Sunday, April 23 in the Surf City Vintners’ tasting rooms in the Swift Street Courtyard complex in Santa Cruz. Enjoy enticing appetizers prepared by Cabrillo’s culinary students, paired with fine wines from participating wineries, and then vote on your favorites. Then have yet more fun at the Awards Ceremony and After Party until 5 p.m.—featuring live music by West X Southwest. Tickets are $75. Visit daretopair.org for more info.

Three Spring Festivals—Aries, Taurus, Gemini—Restoring the Plan on Earth

Risa D’Angeles

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March 28, 2017

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Three Spring Festivals—Aries, Taurus, Gemini—Restoring the Plan on Earth

Since winter solstice, the New Group of World Servers has been preparing for the Three Spring festivals (Aries, Taurus, Gemini solar festivals at the time of the full moon), and especially for Wesak, the Buddha Full Moon Festival in Taurus.

The purpose for the Three Spring Festivals is to assist humanity in “Restoring the Plan for the Earth.” Helping humanity to cooperate with, anchor and further the Plan of spiritual unity.

The Three Spring Festivals are the first three full moons in the new spiritual year (begun at Spring Equinox, as the Sun entered Aries). The dates of these festivals are Tuesday, April 11 (Aries festival), Wednesday, May 10 (Taurus, Wesak) and Friday, June 9 (Gemini festival). Everyone can join in the festivals. Preparation begins with knowledge of them.

The Three Spring Festivals form a template for the new spiritual year. Along with the following nine new and full moons (festivals) the Three Spring Festivals direct humanity toward the Path of Return via the sacred knowledge of astrology. What is this astrology?

Astrology is a “unified field theory” that directs us in our search for spiritual truth. Astrology allows one to “Know the self” (words inscribed over the Mystery Temples) and cultivates within each of us the knowledge that we are each of great value (to self, to others and to the world). Astrology helps us have an accurate understanding and appreciation of the Divine Plan. Astrology helps in the synthesis of universal, human and divine values. Astrology (the science and art of) is the foundation of the Ageless Wisdom Teachings.

ARIES: The sign and time of Aries demands that things not come too easily. We need challenges, a contest, a test. We need to be dared and to feel that life is an experiment where only the brave need participate. There needs to be a bit of opposition, something to defy, something to call forth one’s courage. If these aren’t in the air, then there’s no reason to be in the game. The game of life. Aries understands the “chase.”

TAURUS: There may be difficulty expressing yourself at this time, especially with Venus, your ruler, retrograde. It isn’t easy to share your inner thoughts. What we know about you is this: you’re subtle, hidden, compassionate, complex. You need comfort, and you’re interested in psychology and helping others. Showing your feelings in public never happens. Only with those you trust. They’re the lucky ones.

GEMINI: Are friends around these days, more than usual? Are you assessing the groups you belong to and the friends you have? With Venus retrograde it’s important to evaluate if what you value is true and real. There are many ideas presented in our world. But there is only one truth. Are you following what others believe? Geminis have a responsibility to gather the truth and disperse it. They can’t be followers.

CANCER: You can wonder how you contribute to the world at large and if you have authority or even if anyone listens to you, honors you, and if you are a guide to anyone. These are important questions for everyone, but especially for Cancers, who can hide away but really hope someday they are seen as strong in character, recognized as important and able to communicate successfully. Are these questions you’re asking?

LEO: The essence of all of your past experiences and learnings is how you formed your philosophy of life. As you review the past, including what you valued then and what you value now (people, events, lovers, etc.,) you see how life educated you, offered you vision, long journeys and spiritual realities. You have these days the mind of a priest, a judge, a journeyer, a professor and a mystery.

VIRGO: There is a sense of losing one’s direction or boundaries, a sense of self-sacrifice in order to blend with others forming contact and connection. There’s a sense of something disappearing or dying. Not physical death but perhaps the death of limitations that leads to growth, transformation, regeneration, rebirth of the self or of a relationship. The changes may be creating a crisis. This will pass. You’re the phoenix.

LIBRA: All Libras need people, social things, relationships, intimates to bring them out into the world, to be friends, to partner, to play and to share with them. “Other” is always Libra’s basic need. It is only with the “other” that Libra can reflect upon and understand the self. Libra is intelligent, has a loving nature, attracts love, and creates harmony out of all of life’s conflicts and chaos.

SCORPIO: You have very artistic abilities, deep and refined. However, many are unable to see them. You keep your abilities quite protected. It’s important to have a peaceful, harmonious and beautiful environment. You’re both an old soul yet very young at heart. Be clear, direct and truthful when communicating. Relationships are really about communication. Begin to be the peacemaker. Warriors are able to be peaceful too.

SAGITTARIUS: There will be lots of dramatic goings on in your life or in lives around you. Drama, not a judgment, is simply lots of intense expression. There are also things attractive, sensual and romantic, the arts and music around you. All of these you need to match your creative self-expression. Your heart’s desires are often apparent along with your feelings. What you’re really displaying is kindness, compassion and warm-heartedness. A colorful blend.

CAPRICORN: Perhaps you’re thinking of your heritage, ancestry and lineages. And childhood times. The planets in the sky seem to have precipitated down into wherever you are presently. Perhaps in your home and garden. Trying to secure themselves, and offer their seeds of wisdom directly into your heart. Creating within you a stable sense of spirituality. They are calling you to rest more, to relax, to know all’s well. In all areas of life, past, present and future. Their sound is Ohm.

AQUARIUS: You have many ideas, many talents, are curious with a very intelligent mind. You seek community—through family, siblings, friends, short journeys, writing and communication. There is a need to assess what your values are (people, events, resources, things, etc.). And to communicate your gratitude with those who love and care for you. There will be a lot of moving about in your life. Stabilize each day with prayer.

PISCES: Your environments must begin to reflect calmness, beauty, order and organization. There may be memories of early childhood experiences. We realize that families and relationships are given to us so that we may learn more together—learning how to help and care for each other, develop compassion and recognize forgiveness. All of our relationships have this as a purpose. We remember our family, our early lives. We are grateful. Always and forever.

Rob Brezsny’s Astrology March 29—April 4

Rob Brezsny

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March 28, 2017

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Rob Brezsny’s Astrology March 29—April 4

ARIES (March 21-April 19): The dragon that stole your treasure will return it. Tulips and snapdragons will blossom in a field you thought was a wasteland. Gargoyles from the abyss will crawl into view, but then meekly lick your hand and reveal secrets you can really use. The dour troll that guards the bridge to the Next Big Thing will let you pass even though you don’t have the password. APRIL FOOL! Everything I just described is only metaphorically true, not literally.

TAURUS (April 20-May 20): According to legend, Buddha had to face daunting tests to achieve enlightenment. A diabolical adversary tempted him with sensual excesses and assailed him with vortexes of blistering mud, flaming ice, and howling rocks. Happily, Buddha glided into a state of wise calm and triumphed over the mayhem. He converted his nemesis’s vortexes into bouquets of flowers and celestial ointments. What does this have to do with you? In accordance with current astrological omens, I hope you will emulate Buddha as you deal with your own initiatory tests. APRIL FOOL! I wasn’t completely honest. It’s true you’ll face initiatory tests that could prod you to a higher level of wisdom. But they’ll most likely come from allies and inner prompts rather than a diabolical adversary.

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): Since I expect you’ll soon be tempted to indulge in too much debauched fun and riotous release, I’ll offer you a good hangover remedy. Throw these ingredients into a blender, then drink up: a thousand-year-old quail egg from China, seaweed from Antarctica, milk from an Iraqi donkey, lemon juice imported from Kazakhstan, and a dab of Argentinian toothpaste on which the moon has shone for an hour. APRIL FOOL! I deceived you. You won’t have to get crazy drunk or stoned to enjoy extreme pleasure and cathartic abandon. It will come to you quite naturally—especially if you expand your mind through travel, big ideas, or healthy experiments.

CANCER (June 21-July 22): Hire a promoter to create gold plaques listing your accomplishments and hang them up in public places. Or pay someone to make a thousand bobble-head dolls in your likeness, each wearing a royal crown, and give them away to everyone you know. Or enlist a pilot to fly a small plane over a sporting event while trailing a banner that reads, “[Your name] is a gorgeous genius worthy of worshipful reverence.” APRIL FOOL! What I just advised was a distorted interpretation of the cosmic omens. Here’s the truth: The best way to celebrate your surging power is not by reveling in frivolous displays of pride, but rather by making a bold move that will render a fantastic dream ten percent more possible for you to accomplish.

LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): Endangered species: black rhino, Bornean orangutan, hawksbill turtle, South China tiger, Sumatran elephant, and the Leo messiah complex. You may not be able to do much to preserve the first five on that list, but please get to work on saving the last. It’s time for a massive eruption of your megalomania. APRIL FOOL! I was exaggerating for effect. There’s no need to go overboard in reclaiming your messiah complex. But please do take strong action to stoke your self-respect, self-esteem, and confidence.

VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Race through your yoga routine so you have more time to surf the Internet. Inhale doughnuts and vodka in the car as you race to the health food store. Get into a screaming fight with a loved one about how you desperately need more peace and tenderness. APRIL FOOL! A little bit of self-contradiction would be cute, but not THAT much. And yet I do worry that you are close to expressing THAT much. The problem may be that you haven’t been giving your inner rebel any high-quality mischief to attend to. As a result, it’s bogged down in trivial insurrections. So please give your inner rebel more important work to do.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): Research shows that a typical working couple devotes an average of four minutes per day in meaningful conversations. I suggest you boost that output by at least ten percent. Try to engage your best companion in four minutes and 24 seconds of intimate talk per day. APRIL FOOL! I lied. A ten-percent increase isn’t nearly enough. Given the current astrological indicators, you must seek out longer and deeper exchanges with the people you love. Can you manage 20 minutes per day?

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In a way, it’s too bad you’re about to lose your mind. The chaos that ensues will be a big chore to clean up. But in another sense, losing your mind may be a lucky development. The process of reassembling it will be entertaining and informative. And as a result, your problems will become more fascinating than usual, and your sins will be especially original. APRIL FOOL! I lied, sort of. You won’t really lose your mind. But this much is true: Your problems will be more fascinating than usual, and your sins will be especially original. That’s a good thing! It may even help you recover a rogue part of your mind that you lost a while back.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): You say that some of the healthiest foods don’t taste good? And that some of your pleasurable diversions seem to bother people you care about? You say it’s too much hassle to arrange for a certain adventure that you know would be exciting and meaningful? Here’s what I have to say about all that: Stop whining. APRIL FOOL! I lied. The truth is, there will soon be far fewer reasons for you to whine. The discrepancies between what you have to do and what you want to do will, at least partially, dissolve. So will the gaps between what’s good for you and what feels good, and between what pleases others and what pleases you.

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): You should begin work on a book with one of the following titles, and you should finish writing it no later than April 28: “The Totally Intense Four Weeks of My Life When I Came All the Way Home” . . . “The Wildly Productive Four Weeks of My Life when I Discovered the Ultimate Secrets of Domestic Bliss” . . . “The Crazily Meaningful Four Weeks When I Permanently Anchored Myself in the Nourishing Depths.” APRIL FOOL! I lied. There’s no need to actually write a book like that. But I do hope you seek out and generate experiences that would enable you to write books with those titles.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): If you were a passenger on a plane full of your favorite celebrities, and the pilot had to make an emergency landing on a remote snowbound mountain, and you had to eat one of the celebrities in order to stay alive until rescuers found you, which celebrity would you want to eat first? APRIL FOOL! That was a really stupid and pointless question. I can’t believe I asked it. I hope you didn’t waste a nanosecond thinking about what your reply might be. Here’s the truth, Aquarius: You’re in a phase of your astrological cycle when the single most important thing you can do is ask and answer really good questions.

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): You now have an elevated chance of finding a crumpled one-dollar bill on a sidewalk. There’s also an increased likelihood you’ll get a coupon for a 5-percent discount from a carpet shampoo company, or win enough money in the lottery to buy a new sweatshirt. To enhance these possibilities, all you have to do is sit on your ass and wish really hard that good economic luck will come your way. APRIL FOOL! What I just said was kind of true, but also useless. Here’s more interesting news: The odds are better than average that you’ll score tips on how to improve your finances. You may also be invited to collaborate on a potentially lucrative project, or receive an offer of practical help for a bread-and-butter dilemma. To encourage these outcomes, all you have to do is develop a long-term plan for improved money management.

Homework: Carry out a prank that makes someone feel good. Report results at Tr**********@***il.com.

6 Things To Do In Santa Cruz This Week

GT Staff

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March 22, 2017

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Green Fix

‘The Last Coastal Sand Mine’

Local filmmaker Ed Schehl, who produces short films focused on environmental and social issues, has turned his attention to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS) with a 10-minute documentary ‘The Last Coastal Sand Mine.’ Learn about how CEMEX is mining 700 million pounds of sand illegally each year from the MBNMS—exacerbating erosion rates—and what we can do about it. The film, which screens at Patagonia Santa Cruz, will be followed by a Q&A with the experts featured in the documentary, as well as a letter writing and social media campaign for a local movement to stop the illegal sand mine. Food and beverages will be provided, including Discretion Brewery and Alta Organic Coffee.

Info: 7-9 p.m. Thursday, March 30. Patagonia Santa Cruz, 415 River St., Santa Cruz. saveourshores.org/events/sand-mine. Free.

Art Seen

‘My Fair Lady’

Aptos High Theatre Arts Department presents ‘My Fair Lady,’ which opens on March 23. Come out to enjoy the talent of local students and staff with this musical comedy based on the Greek play ‘Pygmalion.’ The production is the product of more than 50 Aptos High students, and a live 20-piece orchestra led by Terrel Eaton. (Photo by Kelly McCord.)

Info: Preview March 23, 7 p.m., $5; Opening 3 p.m. March 26 and running March 30 & 31 at 7 p.m. and April 1 & 2 at 7 p.m. Advance tickets $10/adult, $8/Seniors, $6/Children under 12. At-the-door prices add $2. Doors open 30 minutes before curtain. Tickets at aptoshs.net.

Thursday 2/23

Together To End Solitary

Most prison systems don’t use the term “solitary confinement,” but refer to the practice as “segregation” or “restrictive housing.” In California, long-term solitary confinement units are called Security Housing Units, and the complete isolation practice is utilized in “supermax” prisons, like California’s Pelican Bay. According to the group Solitary Watch, it has been notoriously difficult to determine the number of people being held in solitary confinement, though current estimates are 80,000-100,000 in the U.S. Along with sleep deprivation in prisons, solitary has been deemed a form of torture by human rights groups. End Solitary Santa Cruz will meet at the corner of Pacific Avenue and Cooper St., on the 23rd of every month—for the 23-plus hours a day people in solitary are in their cells, as well as protest the interval awakenings happening in Central California prisons.

Info: 11:30 setup, Noon, signs and outreach, 12:30-2 p.m., rally, letter writing, and readers’ theater including Hell is a Very Small Place, If the SHU Fits, and Other Voices from Solitary Confinement. Pacific Avenue at Cooper Street, Santa Cruz. Free.

Saturday 2/23

A Celebration of Homebrewing

The fifth annual DIYine (pronounced D.I.Wine) celebrates all things homebrew this Saturday, at the Museum of Art & History. Co-sponsored by Seven Bridges Organic Brewing Supply, this festive tasting event supports the nonprofit Santa Cruz Fruit Tree Project, pioneers in harvesting and processing the county’s excess of backyard fruit, and will help the group’s efforts to plant community orchards. An incredible variety of artisanal beers, fruit wines, meads, liquors, cocktails, absinthe, ciders, coconut kefir, elderberry syrup, and soft drinks, like the famous Breath of Fire ginger ale, will be featured, as well as food, live music and a silent auction. Come out to learn more about the Fruit Tree Project and pick up some tips on brewing your own libations at home.

Info: 6-10 p.m., Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. Tickets are sliding scale; $20-$25 in advance at fruitcruz.org, minimum $25 at the door.

Sunday 3/26

Salsa and Tapas Benefit for Community Radio

Strong media channels are more important than ever, these days, which is why, after KUSP went silent, a group of locals have been working hard to raise funds to buy 90.7 FM. So far they’ve raised $80,000 of their $300,000 goal. Come out to help support the revival of news and public affairs on local airwaves with a fundraising event on Sunday, March 26 at India Joze. DJ Brett Taylor from the Latin Quarter will be spinning the best Latin salsa, and chef Jozseph Schultz of India Joze will create a feast of Latin tapas to fuel dancing feet.

Info: 3-7 p.m. The 418 Project, 418 Front St., Santa Cruz. 425-6355. $25. eventbrite.com.

Sunday 3/26

‘Dancing in the Isles: Musica Pacifica’

March is “Early Music Month”—part of a national, grassroots campaign sponsored by Early Music America, which is designed to raise awareness of early music throughout the North American music community. To celebrate, Santa Cruz Baroque Festival presents “Dancing in the Isles: Music Pacifica”—with rousing Baroque folk and dance music from Scotland, Ireland and England. Musica Pacifica performs with an exciting range of instruments, including recorder, violin, viola da gamba, harpsichord, and percussion, and there will be room for dancing in the aisles!

Info: 3-5 p.m., Veterans Memorial Building, 846 Front St., Santa Cruz. 457-9693. Tickets $10-$35 at scbaroque.org. For more information on Early Music Month, visit earlymusicamerica.org.

Opinion March 22, 2017

Steve Palopoli

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March 22, 2017

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EDITOR’S NOTE

We’ve been proud to be a sponsor of the NEXTies for several years, and this time around there’s an extra dose of pride because our own Lily Stoicheff is being honored as Writer of the Year. Because the NEXTies share our interest in the area’s up-and-coming talent, we’ve traditionally profiled all of the winners. But the awards have grown rapidly since Matthew Swinnerton took over, and there’s now simply too many to do so. More than that, we wanted to take a different approach this year and dive deeper into the story of a single winner that plays a role in an important issue facing the community. Like our attempt to dig a little deeper for a new take on the Best of Santa Cruz County issue last week, it felt like an opportunity to give readers something more.

The Warming Center, which is being honored by the NEXTies as Best Local Nonprofit, was a perfect fit. Matthew Renda’s profile of the group explains how they have worked hard with an all-volunteer staff to mend a hole in this county’s safety net. With homelessness always one of the most pressing issues in Santa Cruz, their dedication to providing shelter for one of the area’s most vulnerable populations is fully deserving of the recognition they’re getting this week. You can also find a full list of awardees and all of the details of the awards show on Friday at the Rio. Congratulations to this year’s NEXTies winners!

STEVE PALOPOLI | EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Read the latest letters to the editor here.

Best of Best of

Your current Best of Santa Cruz issue (GT, 3/15) is above/beyond anything I remember you doing before. Featuring the art of the late Doug Ross together with Maria’s story on him was a fabulous tribute to the man and his creativity. Thank you!

Sandra L. Cohen

Santa Cruz

Partner with the People

“Even if the SCPD had not participated in the controversial raids, they probably would have happened the same way—immigration checks and all.” (GT, 3/15) I agree, the federal government did not need any local cooperation for its offensive.

Why would any law enforcement department in the State of California ever participate in what amounts to a PR disaster, a useless waste of city resources, a murky war game under the cloak of darkness … to arrest fewer than a dozen people on rather mundane narcotics charges?

I would expect as much in Lassen County, Butte County or Kern County, but Santa Cruz?

I was hard-pressed to find any small department that has a Homeland Security office on-site.

Community leaders are working overtime with the faith communities, schools and nonprofits to gain trust and mend broken relationships in the immigrant community and the community at large. This task would be less complicated had Santa Cruz police declined to actively participate in the raids. So now we must reunite, reaffirm our commitment, and reinforce real civilian partnership and oversight of our police department.

Today our state legislature is considering a new law, Senate Bill 54, the California Values Act. That bill would prohibit local law enforcement agencies from making the mistake that the Santa Cruz Police Department made. It would prevent all local law enforcement agencies in California from collaborating with general immigration policies that fracture families and adversely affect local communities. SB54 would also prohibit indiscriminate access by ICE to state prisons and our local jails, while still allowing immigration enforcement targeting serious criminals. The California legislature must to support SB54.

Denise Elerick

Aptos

CORRECTIONS

Hundreds of listings of winners each year means our Best of Santa Cruz County issue is always followed the next week by our Best of Santa Cruz County corrections. With apologies to the winners, here are this year’s:

Bella Roma was a runner-up for Best Date Night, Capitola.
Pour Tap Room won Best Tap Room.
Another Bike Shop was a runner-up for Best Bike Shop.
The address for Rachel Carlton Abrams, MD is 740 Front St., Suite 130, Santa Cruz.
The address for Connoisseur Carpet is 1521 Seabright Ave., Santa Cruz.
The contact information for Best House Cleaner winner Clean Sweep is P.O. Box 1022, Felton; 239-4645; usecleansweep.com.
The Best Crossfit category was omitted. Winner: Studio 831, 2351 Mission St., Santa Cruz, santacruzstudio831.com. Runners up: CrossFit Aptos, Seabright CrossFit.

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

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

GOOD IDEA

NATURALLY HISTORICAL
The Capitola Historical Museum, which our readers just picked as a runner-up for Best Museum in GTâ€™s Best Of Santa Cruz County issue, is unveiling a brand-new exhibit. â€œThe Nature of Capitola,â€ which opens Friday, March, 25, is the museumâ€™s first-ever exhibit devoted entirely to the history of the townâ€™s natural features.

GOOD WORK

DELIVER A MESSAGE
As Donald Trump threatens to defund the program nationally, Meals on Wheels for Santa Cruz County is raising awareness about its work during Community Champions Week. In recent years, the nationwide nonprofit has used the week to ask local politicians and other community members to take part in meal delivery for seniors.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

â€œHome, more than anything, means warmth and bed.â€
-Vivienne Westwood

Good TimesGood Times

Good TimesGood Times

Making a Connection

Digging Deeper

Finding Their Flow

Battles Over Biking

Pop a Wheelie:

Brew News

Rich and hungry?

Wine Events: Dare to Pair

Green Fix

Art Seen

Thursday 2/23

Saturday 2/23

Sunday 3/26

Sunday 3/26

EDITOR’S NOTE

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

PHOTO CONTEST WINNER

GOOD IDEA

GOOD WORK

QUOTE OF THE WEEK