Plus Letters To the Editor The Santa Cruz alternative press has a proud tradition of covering LGBTQ issues that don’t get the attention they deserve in the mainstream media. This has a lot to do with the vibrant LGBTQ community here, and I suspect, also, with the fact that City on a Hill Press—the UCSC paper...

Donning vegetable costumes, signs and bright yellow T-shirts, supporters of the Beach Flats Community Garden flooded Santa Cruz City Hall and its lawn on Tuesday, Nov. 3, to discuss a permanent solution for the 20-year-old garden facing eviction. In the stuffy council chambers that reached their 114-person capacity, city councilmembers listened to supporters express their love...

Films this WeekCheck out the movies playing locallyReviews Movie Times Santa Cruz area movie theaters > New This Week OUR BRAND IS CRISIS Sandra Bullock plays Jane, a high-stakes, all-or-nothing campaign manager who is sent to Bolivia to install a new leader against her nemesis, the coordinator for the opposing candidate,...

Bernie Sanders, because he seems like a team player. Edward Brooks, Santa Cruz, Framer             Donald Trump, because he has less to lose. Sterling Muth, Santa Cruz, Sales           Donald Trump, because his hair would make great kindling for fire. Jason Goetsch, Capitola, Electronics Consultant    ...

Apple visionary examined in entertaining ‘Steve Jobs’ Leave it to scriptwriter Aaron Sorkin to come up with a punchy, comprehensible way to distill the complex story of the visionary who invented Apple computers into a feature film. Sorkin’s sharp, literate script is the hardware that supports director Danny Boyle’s hugely entertaining biographical drama, Steve Jobs. It’s...

From Chile’s Casablanca valley to Capitola’s Pelican Ranch Leah, the daughter of some friends was in town from San Diego last month, and my only chance to see her was a quick meeting up in Pelican Ranch’s tasting room in Capitola. I needed to thank her for the many useful tips she gave us on Chile,...

Family tradition turns into toffee business for Marci Prolo Santa Cruz’s Marci Prolo makes hand-crafted toffee that is simply splendid and will satisfy locals’ sweet tooth. Prolo’s toffee, which she sells as Goose’s Goodies, is handmade, based on a family recipe. She sells the candy online and also at local retailers like Chefworks, Buttercup Cakes, the...

Heather Christie sings in local duo the Feral Fauna, which combines organic acoustic instrumentation with danceable electronics. Christie also has a solo project titled Cheraki, but though it shares some influences, she sees it as a very different kind of outlet. “I like to think of it as my feminine project. It’s more introspective. It really...

Win tickets to see Yo La Tengo at The Rio on SantaCruz.com In 1990, alternative rock band Yo La Tengo released Fakebook, an album of cover songs by artists including Cat Stevens, the Flamin’ Groovies, and Gene Clark. Earlier this year, they circled back around to the concept with Stuff Like That There, an album of...

A doctoral student at UCSC examines how a new method of cattle ranching can help restore tropical forests in her home country of Colombia In the southwestern mountain forest of Quindío, Colombia, there is a farm known as Finca Pinzacuá. Here in the La Vieja watershed, rancher Don Olimpo raises cattle. It’s the number one land...