For more on Streetlight Records’ big anniversary, read Gary Singh’s story on its roots in San Francisco and San Jose.
I remember the first time I walked into Streetlight Records. It was July 2002 (exactly 23 years and one day to the date of this publishing), I was 18 years old and had recently graduated from high school in Southern California.
My then girlfriend and I were on a statewide road trip following the punk band The Distillers, with one of the shows at the Vets Hall. I had already been accepted to UC Santa Cruz and took the trip as an opportunity to explore the city where I was going to live for the next four years.
Walking into the store was like coming home.
By that time I was already a record collector—with my passion for music and records passed down from my dad—but my bland suburban hometown didn’t have any stores. When Amoeba Hollywood opened at the end of 2001 it was like walking through the pearly gates of St. Peter.
But Streetlight was different.
It wasn’t nearly as large as the Amoeba—which took up half a block at the original location—but still big enough to boast an impressive collection of every genre along with DVDs. It was homey in the best sense of the word and I knew right then and there I wanted to work at Streetlight, even if for just a little while.
In the words of John Lennon, “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans,” and my journey to working at our local record store took a few twists until I landed the gig in 2007. Little did I know not only would I still be working there 18 years later, but it would be the longest job I’ve ever had (with journalism as a close second).
FAMILY ALBUM Photos of past employees adorn the back room of Streetlight Records in Santa Cruz. PHOTO: Mat Weir
Reflecting on what it means to work at a company that’s lasted 50 years (the golden anniversary), which seems like hundreds in our constantly changing, everything-must-be-new society, a few things have come up.
First, Streetlight is an institution. After all, what would downtown Santa Cruz be without Streetlight Records? Because beyond being just a store, it’s a community.
“Record stores function as gathering places for like-minded people to meet and hang out with one another,” explains Rob “Z” Zvaleko. Since 1997 Z has been the store’s classical music guru and before Streetlight he worked at HMV on 72nd and Broadway in New York.
“It’s a community thing. Bookstores and record stores have always been a Mecca for people to come and share their thoughts and tastes. Texting and online [conversations] isn’t the same as getting into a debate with someone in person.”
Streetlight Records Santa Cruz manager Roger Weiss agrees. He originally started with the company in Noe Valley and moved to the Santa Cruz store when it opened.
“[It’s about] spreading the gospel of music,” he says. “Sharing my tastes and being exposed to new music from customers and employees.”
Which brings us to a second point about Streetlight Records and why so many of us have been here so long: it’s a family atmosphere.
Ok, normally when a company says, “We’re a family here” it’s a good time to go the opposite way. And sure, there are some past employees who would argue otherwise. However, it’s been my experience for almost 20 years.
At the end of the day we’re coworkers, but there’s a deeper bond that connects us. We care for each other. We celebrate our wins, family members’ successes, and come together when tragedy strikes one of us. And just like any family, we bicker often as well, but if anyone tries to cross one of us, we back each other up wholeheartedly. Working here, I’ve made lifelong friends out of current—and ex—employees and customers.
For Emily Farris—one of Streetlight’s newer, younger employees, who’s been with the company for two and a half years—it’s the connection that interests her the most.
“I really appreciate it,” she explains. “Hearing everyone talk about the history of them working here for over 25 years. They are talking about a time before I was even born, but they say it like it wasn’t that long ago. It makes me feel small but also a part of something so much bigger because of all the history.”
KEEPING UP TRADITION A relatively new employee, Emily Farris enjoys being ‘part of something so much bigger because of all the history.’ PHOTO: Mat Weir
Which brings us to the third and final point that sums up the first two.
Streetlight is bigger than any of us and a staple in the heart of Santa Cruz and Santa Cruzans. How many bands wouldn’t exist if they hadn’t put a flier up looking for members on one of the two bulletin boards? Think of all the movie nights that never would have happened without the rows of DVDS. One of my beloved friend’s sisters was even married in the store (which, coincidentally, I was there for years before I ever knew them).
While today’s algorithms suggest what we listen to, there’s something magical about taking a chance on buying a record based just on the cover, because something about it just calls to you. And when it’s a dud, hey, at least you were brave enough to take the chance.
That’s why record stores are still so important and why they’ve seen a resurgence in the last several years. Long after the media declared physical copies dead, people are still buying LPs, CDs and even cassettes. A record store allows us the freedom to pause, breathe and reflect while digging through the dusty bins of lifelong companions and possible new friends.
And hey, who knows? You might just discover something you love—or hate—and will be able to share it with those around you, impacting someone else’s life in ways you never knew you could.
So happy birthday, Streetlight Records. Thank you for the long, strange trip it’s been, working in your concrete and metal walls. In the immortal words of the alien himself, David Bowie, “Nothing’s gonna touch you in these golden years.”
Streetlight Records celebrates its 50th anniversary at 3pm on July 27 with a show by the band Cohesion at the store, 939 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz. Free. 408-429-9200.
I was born in the deep south, Bakersfield. On April 19 I drive to the reddest of red California, to cover a Kern County Hands Off rally in my hometown. Most of them have never protested before.
“What are you protesting for?”
David Wescott, 41, puts his hands on his children’s heads and says, “For them.” He stands with his wife and kids and holds a Veterans Against Trump sign. His hair is cut in a high fade, muscles fill out his green U.S. Marine T-shirt. He deployed to Kuwait in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and is now finishing law school with a specialty in constitutional law.
“So, David, how is our constitution holding up?”
He exhales, his shoulders slump. “I feel bad for my professors in constitutional law because right now our constitution is going through significant challenges.”
He looks into the distance. “You know, these laws are things that have precedence over hundreds of years. These are the pillars of our democracy.”
I’m glad one of our best will keep track of our constitution, because all I see is a Supreme Court that has voted itself out of existence.
SERVICE MAN David Wescott, U.S. Marine, protesting at the April 19 Hands Off! rally in Bakersfield. PHOTO: Richard Stockton
I ask David, “If Trump tries to use the military to take over, what would the Marines do?”
He tells me that active military members are having that conversation now. “Our oath is to the constitution, not the president. Seventy-five percent of the Marine Corps are 22 and younger, most haven’t formed much of a world view yet, so they will be looking to their immediate superiors for what to do. They would start with their lieutenant, who has direct access to upper leadership. Leadership in the field will decide how it will go.”
“OK, but what if the commander in chief orders them to round up journalists or Mexicans or gays, to shoot us?” I ask.
“I think if it becomes that blatant, that we’re rounding up marginalized groups of people, I think there would be a huge problem in the military for that.”
Jon, 42, an Oildale schoolteacher, started protesting because of his students whose parents are not citizens.
“The kids are citizens. But their parents get deported and then there’s no one to care for these children.”
“This happens in your class? To your students?”
“Yes.”
I ask Jon, “What does protesting do for you?”
“It makes me feel better. To some degree it keeps me sane. And maybe this gets us in gear for the midterm election. I believe we still have a chance to save democracy.”
APTOSIA Protestors gathered on major intersections along Soquel Drive July 17, including this one at State Park Drive. PHOTO: Brad Kava
Community of Resistance
Why a person decides to protest can be intensely personal. Bakersfield Hands Off volunteer Lindsay, 42, is the mother of two autistic children. She had never protested before but felt piqued when Robert F. Kennedy, Trump’s secretary of Health and Human Services, said that autistic children put a burden on their families that will destroy them. Lindsay’s eyes well up as she says, “Regardless if you’ll ever pay taxes or if you’ll ever have a job or if you’ll ever get married or write poetry, all the things that Kennedy said autistic kids will never do, a lot of them will. But even if they can’t, it does not mean that they don’t have value. That just breaks my heart.”
The New York Times reports that poet Marianne Eloise, 32, who is autistic, responded to Kennedy’s comment about autistic people being unable to write a poem. Author of many published poems and books, Eloise says, “I would love to read R.F.K.’s poetry. I’m not familiar with his work.”
Those who compare the Trump administration playbook to 1933 Nazi Germany may find traction with Marianne and Lindsay’s stories. Nazi eugenicists argued that there was a direct link between diminished capacity and societal worthiness. Eugenics provided underpinning for the murder of the institutionalized disabled in the Nazi “euthanasia” program.
“So, Lindsay, what does protesting accomplish?”
“We’re building a community of resistance to this dictatorship that is based on cruelty. The more people join us, the more we will turn Trump’s constant drumbeat of fear to empathy. We keep growing and I dream about the 2026 election.”
SAVE SOCIAL SECURITY Linnette, 39, advocates for expanding Social Security at the Bakersfield Hands Off rally on April 19. PHOTO: Richard Stockton
Linnette, 39, stands next to her son and husband with a sign that says, “Expand Social Security.” I ask her why a young person would march for Social Security. Linnette says she had never thought about protesting before but is scared that DOGE will cut her father’s payments. “He’s 98 and lives off this security. If they took it away, it would fall on us and we’re barely making it now. Why would anyone do this? Why?”
Her husband, Paul, 42, is a manager at Human Services of Kern County.
Paul says, “The guy who’s running Health and Human Services. We have an outbreak of measles going on and the best way to prevent a measles epidemic is a vaccine. This is insane!” Paul says he works to defend the health of the most vulnerable, but the Trump administration does not care about medical care for vulnerable people.
Many claim they protest to retain their sanity. At the April 15 Bernie/AOC “Fighting Oligarchy” rally in Folsom, I meet Carl Matranga, a grizzled, white-pony-tailed vet. His grin shows one gold and two missing teeth. Carl opens his Army jacket to reveal the words on his T-shirt, a quote from poet William Shenstone:
A liar begins with making falsehood appear like truth,
and ends with making truth itself appear like falsehood.
Matranga believes Donald Trump’s superpower is his shamelessness. He explains how Trump’s endless lying bent his head until it seemed normal.
“He lies about absolutely everything, from eggs to immigrants eating pets. It blew my mind. I started telling myself, ‘OK, politics is a dirty game. Who knows what’s true or not true? I better just stay home.’ Hearing myself say, ‘I better just stay home’ scared the shit out of me. Now, I go to every protest I can.”
SIGN OF THE TIMES A protester at the July 17 rally in Aptos. PHOTO: Brad Kava
As the Folsom crowd of 30,000 starts chanting “Bernie! Bernie!” Carl shouts in my ear, “George Washington could not tell a lie. Richard Nixon could not tell the truth. Donald Trump can’t tell the difference.” He grins, fist bumps my shoulder and turns to chant with the crowd.
The generations start listening…to each other
Almost all the protesters I’d seen before June 14 were old people and their parents. It’s hardly surprising: Despair is the reality of many young folks these days. The June 14 No Kings rally, organized by IndivisibleSantaCruz.com, was the first time I saw Gen Z (ages 13 to 28) show up in mass.
A young man with long, black hair says he’s concerned about the impact of climate change on his generation, and sees older generations wage a war on youth. “We are castaways on the older generation’s unrelenting march toward greed.” He says there is nothing to do but take to the streets. “At least older people here pay attention. What will protesting change? Maybe us. Maybe galvanize us to stand up for a future we can live in.”
I point out to a young, red-haired man named Kyle that, until today, most protesters have been geezers like me. Kyle says, “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. It might simply be experience. The older generations have seen the kind of movement that is necessary to push back against political tyranny.”
Caroline Bliss-Isberg, 85-year-old Indivisible volunteer and lifelong activist, agrees with Kyle about seniors bringing experience to the anti-Trump resistance.
“We have watched America’s better angels in action when attacked and we are willing to do what we are still able to do to keep them aloft.”
At the Bernie/AOC rally in Folsom I meet an effervescent Sacramento State University student who formerly worked in the Santa Cruz planning department, where he saw people who weren’t able to afford housing.
Lizzy Sterling of Santa Cruz, 20, says she feels that it’s important to not judge those who haven’t gotten involved, but rather to encourage them to. Sterling says, “Personally, I have been involved in the local music scene, which is rooted in a lot of progressive thinking, community involvement and fund raising for issues we believe in.”
An anonymous 20-year-old says, “How am I supposed to go out and be the face of the movement when I feel like old people are constantly saying we’re stupid and don’t know anything?” She says that the worst for her is to see young people who are behind the dictatorship. “That’s what makes me feel bleak about the future. Some young people are going really, really conservative in a scary way.”
Seniors, still protesting after all these years
Many protesters at anti-Trump rallies are seniors, often the same people who protested the Vietnam War in the ’60s. My son teases me that I could get my Vietnam war signs out of the attic and recycle them.
Bliss-Isberg, the 85-year-old Indivisible volunteer, agrees that it[2] feels recycled. “But this time feels worse. Chief among our reasons to be here is the sense of urgency we elders feel. This is the first time in my life that our national values are under existential threat. The only way to stop this is for people to stand up.” She thinks hanging the flag upside down is defeatist, it means danger. She wants to reclaim the flag.
“Protesting works. If three percent of the people show up, something happens. The Tesla takedown worked. My biggest fear is not being courageous enough to stand up for what I believe in.”
Indivisible volunteer Sandy Silver, 86, says, “I got started protesting when I was pregnant. Sitting in my gynecologist’s office, I read a poster on the wall that said nuclear testing has produced radioactivity that is found in breastmilk. My breastmilk. I started protesting and never quit.”
She is encouraged by young folks joining the protests. “Young people have so much to do, trying to start a family, so much going. They are doing what they can.”
I ask what she would say to someone who is thinking about protesting.
“I would say, DO IT! My grandchildren range from 15 to 25 and they do it. You’re building community to fight back.”
At the Bernie/AOC rally in Folsom, I ask a white-haired man wearing fit-over sunglasses, “Do protests matter?”
“Oh, absolutely. You get to see your neighbors and friends, and people in the community come together for a common goal, which you wouldn’t normally see if you just lived in your own house and watch it on TV. It makes us feel united.”
Donald Trump: ‘Can’t you just shoot them?’
When I ask longtime activist Marla Gomez, 72, if protests give Trump cover to intensify a crackdown, Marla laughs.
“He hardly needs an excuse. He will lie about the need to crack down and just do it anyway. His unpredictable reactions really are so predictable.”
Every protester I meet agrees that protests must be nonviolent. New York Times columnist David Brooks pointed out on the PBS NewsHour’s April 25 broadcast, “One of the ways that authoritarians lose control is when their opponents protest in a nonviolent way, and the authoritarians crack down violently. That’s the way you delegitimize an authoritarian regime.”
Indivisible Santa Cruz County, organizer of the June 14 No Kings rally in downtown Santa Cruz and the July 17 Good Trouble protests at multiple locations from Santa Cruz to Aptos, is clear that protests must be nonviolent and asks everyone to make sure no one is goaded into physical confrontation. “We expect all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with our values.”
A protesting undergrad political science major at UCSC agrees: “That’s how we win. We don’t fight back, we video them when they attack us, the event goes viral, and we win the day.”
Lifetime activist June Eggers, 62, talks about sustainability of protest pressure: “You won’t be able to take on every fight. They want us to wear out; that’s why Trump ‘floods the zone’ with executive orders. Don’t take the bait, but do what you can and live your life.” She reminds me that after the Grinch had stolen all the Christmas trappings from Whoville, the Whos joined hands in a circle and sang songs. June says, “Joy is essential. Join hands and sing every day. It drives them crazy.”
10,000-plus in Santa Cruz
It’s June 14, and joining the Santa Cruz No Kings protest feels like coming home. I get lucky and find a parking space near McDonald’s and jog down Ocean Street. People pour onto Ocean from cross streets, and I’m swept along in a current of military uniforms, tie-dyed hippie garb, pride flags, expensive designer clothes, costumes from Santa to Satan, patched jean wear, rumpled cowboy hats, bowler hats, dreadlocks, mohawks, motorcycle helmets, hard hats, red-white-and-blue colored hair, thousands of signs. Everyone reads everyone’s sign and laughter rolls.
A young man plays marching rolls on a snare drum, another balances on top of a fire hydrant, urging on the crowd, “Hey, ho, Trump has got to go!” Skateboarders pump fists and flash peace signs, young women with clipboards enroll women for feminist activism. The very old walk with intention, each step of their ancient foot is like they are planting a statement. Cars crawl by, drivers join the protest with a cacophony of honking as marchers yell back to the drivers, and 18-wheelers and cement trucks thrill the crowds with long, bellowing air-horn blasts. Teens and twenty-somethings push skateboards and bikes, seniors push walkers, and moms and dads push baby carriages. There are thousands and thousands of signs.
Signs of comedy relief
There are simple signs, elaborate signs, hilarious signs. A young man skateboards down the sidewalk with a sign over his head: “Congressional Republicans, save yourselves with stem-cell research. It may be your last chance to grow a spine.”
“President Trump, how are you going to deal with Hurricane Maria?”
“Pay her what I paid Stormy Daniels.”
Two women notice they had made the same sign; they touch their signs together like clinking glasses of wine: “Free Melania!”
A child holds a sign: “Trump has a mug shot. My parents don’t.”
A man in an orange fright wig and a red clown nose wears a sandwich board depicting a cleaning product called “Voter Detergent” that “whitens” elections. I ask him what makes him worry about voter suppression. He says, “After Trump’s sycophant Robert Kennedy removes vaccinations that protect us from contagion, Trump will require mail-in ballots to have envelopes that have been licked by six people.”
We flow across the county government parking lot toward San Lorenzo Park, until we stop. Young people climb trees to make videos. I can’t see much of the Duck Pond stage, but we listen to speakers sling slogans over the crowd and the crowd roar back in call-and-response. I ask a man pressed against my shoulder how he feels. He shouts back, “I feel like we’re coal miners sent down to rescue survivors of a cave-in.”
I’m having a 1967 flashback; 58 years ago, it was LBJ and Vietnam, today it’s Dubious Caesar and his Lady of Justice Pussy Grab. I half expect County Joe and the Fish to appear to play the Vietnam Rag. “Whoopie, we’re all gonna die!”
As for my wife, Julie, it was her first protest. She says, “I did not know how hopeless I was feeling until I came here and felt hope.”
Walking back up Ocean Street, I stop at the Jury Room for a beer. I reflect that people had so much fun today, there is no doubt the protests against Trump will grow. It’ll be refreshing to hear Trump lie by downplaying crowd size. If Trump’s superpower is shamelessness, the protesters’ superpowers appear to be size and joy.
On the restroom wall above the urinal someone had written:
Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong Un are in a boat in the middle of the ocean. The boat capsizes. Who survives?
Mankind.
Watch Richard Stockton’s video interviews at the April 19 Hands Off rally in Bakersfield and the April 15 Bernie/AOC “Fighting Oligarchy” rally in Folsom at YouTube.com/@HiFiToWiFi.
For more about Indivisible Santa Cruz, their beliefs, strategy and information on future demonstrations—including weekly events—visit indivisiblesantacruzcounty.com.
About 150 people gathered on July 17 in Santa Cruz at the third in a series of meetings about proposed Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) in Watsonville, Aptos and Santa Cruz. The intent for many was to refine and strengthen a message that these systems are not welcome.
“These folks are pursuing these systems at the expense of human health and we all pay the price,” said Brian Roeder of Never Again Moss Landing (NAML). “Until we organize—and that is what tonight is all about—we need to tell our elected officials to stop this madness; this technology is too dangerous.”
The three proposed battery sites are 90 Minto Road in Watsonville, in Santa Cruz behind Dominican Hospital, and near the Aptos High School campus in Aptos.
Much of the revolt stems from the fallout of the fire that tore through the Vistra Battery Energy Storage System at the Moss Landing Power Plant on Jan. 16. According to NAML, the fire emitted hazardous gases from upwards of 5,000 tons of cobalt, nickel, lithium and manganese. NAML and citizens were stunned to learn that firefighters did not have proper training and equipment to combat the fire.
NAML further added that toxins were emitted in a plume that spread over thousands of acres in the Monterey Bay and were inhaled by tens of thousands of residents, pets and livestock. Their group formed after the blaze and has hosted roundtable events and town hall meetings in hopes of gathering input from the community and experts, from science and environmental agencies to area fire departments and toxic clean-up crews.
Numerous people who live on or near Minto Road were present, including longtime Watsonville resident Bob Lyons.
“I live within a half-mile of the Minto Road site, on Meidel Avenue, and I walk past this area every day,” Lyons said. “It’s a beautiful agricultural area with existing 100-year-old apple trees that will be taken out. I talked with my neighbor, who said, ‘I’m going to move away.’ So the big question is—what’s this going to do with property values; are we all going to lose our insurance in this area?”
The evening also included reference to Central Coast Community Energy (3CE), a local source of clean and renewable electricity that local communities established for customers throughout Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara counties. 3CE is locally controlled and governed by board members who represent each community served by the agency. 3CE has already approved a new GridScale lithium ion battery energy storage system facility in Monterey County.
“Many of us have been attending the 3CE board meetings and the community advisory meetings,” said Becky Steinbruner, who helped emcee the evening. “I urge you all to make your voices heard—that we do not want lithium battery energy storage systems here in Santa Cruz County.” She was assisted by Nina and Greg Audino and JR Rosella in leading the evening’s agenda.
The Minto Road spot is a site called the Green Valley Substation, which is 14 to 16 acres in size and would house as many as 300 battery storage units the size of shipping containers.
Skylar Sacoolas of Environmental Justice, an organizer with Greenaction, shared a slide show about unequal access to clean and healthy environments and increased exposure to harmful pollution and contamination from heavy industry, dumps, incinerators and pesticides in low-income and affordable housing sites.
Retired Los Angeles Battalion Chief Ron Cabrera offered a slide show on fire suppression at BESS facilities. Among the key points:
Large-scale fire testing is vital;
Fire spreading from one unit to another or to the entire facility is likely;
Lithium ion smoke is dangerous;
Storage batteries can become more dangerous as they age.
The next meeting will be announced soon. For information, contact numbers and emails, visit stoplithiumbessinsantacruz.org.
Dolly Creamer made a stop at the Crepe Place on July 17 as part of its Rough Girls tour, marking the Los Angeles band’s first time playing in Santa Cruz. “Grungtry” is how Sarah Rebecca Harris, lead singer and founder of Dolly Creamer, describes their sound: a fusion of experimental folk and Americana mixed with punk and rock & roll.
Harris, who grew up in Pennsylvania, played piano as a child but didn’t start singing or learning guitar until about six years ago. While she had always held an infatuation for music, she never envisioned herself becoming a musician. Harris moved to LA in 2012 to pursue costume design. She then enrolled in a San Francisco clown school and began MCing events, backup dancing, and participating in improv shows.
Throughout this time, Harris had been writing little pieces in her notes. They were never songs but fragments of words and ideas that played nicely together. Harris moved to Joshua Tree, and it was there she realized music was calling.
She was writing and performing skits and slowly incorporating musical melodies and bits of singing. Harris recalls performing a skit that didn’t land with the audience and suddenly “waking up” and realizing, “I need to make music.” She looked back at those fragments in her notes and tried to form songs.
In the beginning, Harris was “mystified” by songwriting; she struggled but kept tinkering. A guitarist friend of hers put those first songs to music and an album was released in 2020 under her stage name, Lucky Baby Daddy. Harris then “cracked the code” to song writing. “Once you start writing songs, it’s like a curse—you can’t stop thinking of it,” Harris says. Dolly Creamer was born years later and released a single titled “She’s a 10” in 2024.
Harris says she is “a music fan before anything.” She describes music as an alternate way of communicating: “a different language and unexplainable.” She has always been a “lyrical person” who craves the emotions that song writing evokes. Those first few years of playing music for crowds were surreal for Harris. “Playing with a band is a transcendent experience,” she says.
Harris also emphasized that being a musician is the hardest thing she has ever done. When pursuing music professionally was just a dream, Harris thought of the lifestyle as one of world travel while creating and playing music. Now, as the dream has begun to materialize, the work is undeniable.
A musician has to be “good at so many things,” Harris explains: communicating, marketing, planning, juggling ideas, scheduling, budgeting—and then producing a product that people will support.
Harris is not a full-time musician, although she would like to be. She also makes clothes, works at a brewery, and schedules shows for other bands. Although her newfound lifestyle is “more work than I could have ever imagined,” Harris emphasizes the music is “worth it.”
Dolly Creamer’s most recent single, “Rose Neck Tat,” came out May 13. While its release is recent, the song was the first one Harris wrote for Dolly Creamer. They have been performing “Rose Neck Tat” for years but only recently produced a recording that felt just, according to Harris. A “grungtry” twang twists throughout the piece. Her voice is strong and soft and filled with the emotion that Harris chases in the music she consumes.
Dolly Creamer will release an EP titled Green Gardens for Really Rough Girlfriends on June 20.
Guitarist Jerad Fox, 43, could not have been more surprised to get the call that day.
It was from Matthew Swinnerton, owner of Event Santa Cruz, letting Fox know he’d been hand-picked by Jane Wiedlin for a “super group” that will perform with the Go-Go’s guitarist at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History July 17 as part of a new event series called “Legends Live & Local.”
“I wasn’t aware it was even happening. And I didn’t know I was in the running,” says Fox, who is also a guitar teacher. “It was a big surprise.”
That same happy surprise reverberated throughout Santa Cruz County as five more musicians also learned they’d been selected.
Two of the musicians are just teenagers: Marek Fulo-Furlano, 18, on guitar and Dylan Von Elgg, 15, who plays drums. They both attend Be Natural Music School and were nominated by owner and music director Matthew Pinck. “I’m so proud of these kids,” Pinck says. “They work their tails off. And this super group is such a great opportunity to build a generational bridge…across all ages…with music.”
Fulo-Furlano was blown away when he got the text letting him know he was in the group. He started playing the guitar at 8 years old, but “got serious” at 10 and has been playing ever since. “It’s very fun—never a chore to practice,” he says. “I always do it.” During Covid, he says, he played “all day.”
Von Elgg—who has already performed live with Fulo-Furlano and others at Abbott Square, Felton Music Hall, Woodstock’s Pizza and Woodhouse Blending & Brewing—says it “feels awesome” to perform. “It’s an adrenaline rush.” He adds that “you have to work really hard.” Asked if he envisions a future playing large shows and stadiums, he doesn’t miss a beat. “I would love to rock out!” he offers enthusiastically.
MEETING A LEGEND Guitarist Marek Fulo-Furlano and drummer Dylan Von Elgg, both students at Be Natural Music School, will play with Jane Wiedlin. PHOTO: Contributed
The Legends Live & Local event series is the brainchild of Swinnerton and Live Oak native Jennifer Otter Bickerdike, Ph.D, a rock ’n’ roll cultural historian and author. “We wanted to create a series of events that can help make Santa Cruz a hub for media and creativity on the Central Coast,” Otter Bickerdike says. “It’s about creating an ecosystem of talent, from musicians to sound engineers, videographers, and content creators. If you need it, we want to have it here in Santa Cruz.”
Gabi Bravo, 34, from Watsonville, who will be on vocals, expressed her deep gratitude for being included. Earning the title of Musician of the Year at the NEXTies earlier this year, Bravo is considered a “rising star with a cinematic, soul-stirring sound that fuses Latin influence and indie pop.” Bravo says, “I’m proud to represent women in music because it can be hard out there for us. Especially as a solo artist. There are extra barriers. I am so down…so stoked to be highlighted and to have this opportunity.”
Rounding out the super group are Swan Porter, 28, on keyboards and David De Silva, 42, who plays bass.
Porter, an independent singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Santa Cruz native, says, “Music is my religion, my therapy and my meditation. Being invited by Jane is a huge honor. I respect her fierce dedication to music and her fearless ability to uphold her values in the music industry.”
De Silva adds: “I think it’s great that this event celebrates new generations of musicians.” A veteran on the Santa Cruz music circuit, De Silva is fresh off of playing at the Crow’s Nest Thursday Beach BBQ partyJuly 3 with the Ripatti Rose Band. For more than 20 years, De Silva has done whatever it takes to make a living as a working musician. “I played with a traditional Bolivian band for a year. I’ve played Bollywood, cumbia, merengue. I would not understand life without playing music. It just would make no sense to me.”
The day before the big show at the MAH, the musicians will meet up to practice three songs chosen by Wiedlin in an intimate rehearsal session, offering an opportunity for each performer to receive one-on-one mentoring and meaningful collaboration with a rock ’n’ roll legend.
“Event Santa Cruz is proud to launch Legends Live & Local as a groundbreaking new series that brings legendary creatives to town to inspire, collaborate and uplift our vibrant local community,” says Swinnerton.
The evening will begin with an on-stage conversation with Wiedlin; the group will then perform three songs. The event concludes with “New Wave Rave,” a 90-minute DJ set featuring dance classics from the 1980s.
An Evening with Jane Wiedlin takes place July 17, 6:30–10pm, at the MAH, 705 Front St., Santa Cruz. $38.09. EventSantaCruz.com.
A group of state lawmakers and local medical providers gathered July 8 at the Santa Cruz Community Health Center in Live Oak to sound the alarm on President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA).
Despite its name, the bill will remove millions of people across the U.S. from their health insurance plans and pauperize plans for millions more.
That was the message from Congressman Jimmy Panetta and a cadre of medical professionals, who stressed that the bill will not deter them from their primary mission.
“We’re not going anywhere,” said Donaldo Hernandez, a doctor who serves as vice-chair to the California delegation of the American Medical Association. “We’re going to be right here making sure that we keep doing the thing we have sworn to do, the thing we love, and that’s taking care of people in our communities.”
According to Panetta, OBBBA is a “a self-inflicted wound that will hurt working families throughout this country, that will decrease health coverage in the 19th Congressional District and could lead to closures of rural hospitals in our communities.”
The bill, he said, will provide $4 trillion in tax breaks for billionaires and corporations, which will be paid for by adding $3.8 trillion to the national debt, and $3.4 trillion to the deficit over the next 10 years, and slashing $1 trillion in Medicaid services, leading to 17 million people losing health care.
In addition, the bill cuts $191 billion in federal contributions to state Medicaid programs, with zero expansions in coverage, and imposes state-directed cuts of $149 billion in reimbursements to Medicare rates.
OBBBA also adds co-payments for certain economic levels for people on Medicare, denies transgender youth care, and prevents care for legal immigrants except those with green cards.
Moreover, the legislation implements work requirements that will kick 12 million people off Medicaid, and requires able-bodied adults 18-64 to show proof of 80 hours per month of work, school or volunteer time.
But while such a proposition might seem simple, it doesn’t mention that two-thirds of the people receiving benefits are in nursing homes and unable to work, Panetta said.
“There is a reason why there are no work requirements at the federal level,” he said. “Because it prevents people from getting Medicaid.”
Some 37,000 people in Santa Cruz County could lose Medicaid or coverage under the Affordable Care Act.
That could be devastating in Santa Cruz County, where roughly 71,000 people are enrolled in Medi-Cal and 93% have health insurance, said Health Officer Lisa Hernandez.
Local clinics, she added, serve 14,000 patients through 100,000 appointments annually.
Community Bridges CEO Ray Cancino said he is “utterly devastated” by passage of the bill, and the fact that “not even four Republicans in the House had the courage to stand up and stop the ‘Big Disastrous Bill’ from passing.”
The reality, he said, is that an estimated 17 million Americans will lose their healthcare coverage, and that devastating cuts—totaling nearly $300 billion over the next decade—will gut SNAP, the nation’s most vital food assistance program.
Worse, Cancino said, is that lawmakers knew the harm this bill would cause.
The cuts will mean that many people will face longer wait times and fewer providers, and millions of people will go without regular care, flooding emergency rooms with preventable crises.
In addition, healthcare costs will rise for everyone, Cancino said.
‘We should all be clear-eyed about what this moment represents,” he said. “It is the cost of apathy. It is a painful reminder that when we fail to vote with our values—not just in California, but across the country—we leave our most vulnerable neighbors exposed to decisions made without compassion or foresight.”
Emile Suotonye DeWeaver became an activist and journalist while incarcerated for 21 years and cofounded the organization Prison Renaissance. Ghost in the Criminal Justice Machine: Reform, White Supremacy and an Abolitionist Future is DeWeaver’s new book, which envisions a culture without white supremacy, where police and prisons are replaced with healing systems that create safety and accountability. He will be reading from his book on July 18 at the UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences.
WHITE IS A METAPHOR FOR POWER
John Malkin: You write, “Police work for the white supremacist status quo that was established at the founding of this country.”
Emile DeWeaver: When I’m talking about white supremacy I like to start with the quote by James Baldwin. He says that white is not a skin color; it’s a metaphor for power. A failure to understand that is really connected to the shame spirals we find ourselves in around white supremacy, particularly amongst white people. And also the blind spots, particularly amongst non-white people, about the ways we participate in white supremacy as a survival strategy.
I think about white supremacy in three terms. We’re familiar with the impacts of white supremacy on an individualism level, like “I’m discriminated against” or “I’m pulled over by the police.” And we’re familiar with the structural components of white supremacy like court systems, laws and redlining.
These are important, but what goes missing is the culture and ideology of white supremacy, which are really the things we need to focus in on because the structures of white supremacy just enforce the culture. If you dismantle the structures, the culture would just breed new mechanisms to enforce itself. Ultimately we need to kill the culture, but we must understand that culture is just normalized ideology.
If we want to really start dealing with the root causes of white supremacy we need to understand that we have all been taught to be white supremacist. There’s so many ideas on this from The New Jim Crow all the way to Afro-pessimism that give us the structural manifestations of white supremacy. Often in the culture of white supremacy the thing that signals you’re safe is that you’ve adopted the culture. You’ve joined the ranks of structural Stockholm Syndrome; you’ve taken on the values and mores of your oppressor.
WRITE MY WAY OUT
You write, “By the age of 18, I was serving 69 years to life for murder. By 19, I experienced an awakening and resolved to write my way out of prison.” Tell me about your awakening and your resolve to write your way out of prison.
I always like to say, “You do realize I was a child when I went to prison? So, primarily I grew up.” Probably the biggest factor was that at 19 I was forced to grow up because I had a child. My daughter was born and I met them behind a glass wall. I started thinking about what my daughter was going to see as they grew up, which forced me to look at myself. What they were going to see was a junior high school dropout and someone who, in our society, is a murderer, a throwaway and something to be ashamed of. From my pretty rough relationship with my father, I knew there was no way for my kid to grow up feeling ashamed of me without also being ashamed of themselves. And that cracked me in half.
The little seed of hope was, “Starting right now, you are going to become someone that your kid can be proud of.” I resolved to write my way out of prison. But plan B was, “If I never get out of prison, I can still live a life that shows my kid that no matter how far you fall down, you can always turn around and build something beautiful in your life. That was my wake-up moment. I didn’t have the training to be a writer, so I spent the next 12 years training myself through reading, practice and handwritten rejection letters from editors, honing my craft until I got to a place where I could make a living writing.
QUIET PACIFISM
You write that while incarcerated, you practiced “quiet pacifism” and “meditated like a Zen monk.”
It’s accurate to say that meditation, if it didn’t save my life, it saved my sanity. I came to meditation through practicing Tai Chi in prison. I was also reading the journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson. He had this one line—“Write your own Bible”—and it blew my mind. I was like, “What? You can do that?” So, I began to write my own Bible and 12 years later I came across Buddhism and I realized, “This is what I thought I created!” I got really deep into Buddhist compassion practices, the four noble truths, eightfold path and with that came a commitment not to harm people. There’s a lot of strategy that goes into living in very violent prisons where violence is the currency that earns respect. So I say “quiet pacifist” because it’s not like I was on the yard saying, “Hey everyone, I’m a pacifist!” But I was always strategizing so as to resolve all problems without violence.
I was interested to read in your book, “My dream for abolitionists who will not engage reforms is that they soften the hard lines of this stance.” You also write, “For abolition to work, it must be led not by incarcerated people’s families, not by formerly incarcerated people, but by incarcerated people.”
There is the general concept that impacted people should lead the work. One of the reasons I founded Prison Renaissance is because there was this accepted norm that incarcerated people can’t create organizations because they’re in prison. I saw that as an imagination problem. I founded Prison Renaissance to break that imagination lock.
It was founded and run by incarcerated people, even in a situation where incarcerated people are not allowed to run nonprofits. That was a very dicey time! But, we did it! We’d be in college classrooms, lecturing over the phone. We did a live art event with Southern Exposure in San Francisco called Metropolis with recordings of incarcerated people telling stories about their experiences. I called in and facilitated a town hall-style meeting around emergent strategy and abolition. People’s minds were blown.
There’s no reason why more effort isn’t put into building incarcerated leadership. Think about the Civil Rights movement and imagine the entire country marching across the bridge at Selma but all the Black people stayed home. Could we have had a civil rights movement? Of course not. So, why do we think it’s different for abolition?
Tell me more about prison reforms you see as necessary.
What do reforms look like that give incarcerated people more protection and power? The golden standard for me is prison slave labor. Step one is a reform campaign that’s banning slave labor. Step two, getting it enforced. Step three, while you’re getting it enforced we’re building the right for incarcerated people to own their labor. Incarcerated people work for companies for more money than they would make in prison, but it’s a quarter of what they would make if they were out of prison. But that makes up such a small minority of prison labor. Ninety-plus percent of prison labor is slave labor running the prison: electricians, janitors, cooks, servers, secretaries. Prisons today are simply not sustainable without slave labor. And that’s the importance of ending slave labor! The gears would grind themselves out. So, I wish there was a softer line on reforms and a more strategic approach.
When you describe the right for incarcerated people to own their work, it reminds me of exploitation that occurs outside of prison.
What defines slavery is choice. Where we live in capitalism, you cannot choose not to work. Prison is just the clearest manifestation of our society. This same shit playing out in prison is playing out with you at home watching TV, going to work. I ask people, “Tell me you don’t feel disposable in your country as a white person who doesn’t want to make any waves because you know how quickly you will be disposed of by the very system you are riding on right now!” You can think of prison as a machine, a mechanism of disposability, and if you trace that to its root you will find white supremacy.
HEALING CITIES
A central question in your book is; what does a world look like where we don’t put people in prison for breaking laws, even when someone commits a violent act? Tell me about your concept of healing cities and harm recovery programs where “men weep when they hurt” and learn to use power in healthy ways.
The idea for the healing cities comes from thinking about how much money we spend on prisons and police. I did the math and we can solve three of our major social problems by not spending it on police and prisons. There could be no homelessness and everyone could have an education with no debt. I’m a hippie! I was raised in California and I go to festivals where we’re basically creating entire cities over a weekend and then dismantling them at the end of the week. We are our own government. Harm happens in these places and we have processes for holding people accountable and restoring safety.
So, these structures that abolitionists are trying to promote, they already exist. They just don’t exist for Black people! In my hippie world, it’s a lot of white people. Healing cities is an act of visionary fiction. Let it be a starting point for a conversation as we all collectively figure this out.
DEFUND THE POLICE
We just marked the fifth anniversary since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police on May 25, 2020. Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police were huge movements worldwide. When I ask people, “What happened to Defund?” many say, “It collapsed because the word defund was just too much for people.” What do you think happened to Defund?
It was not the word chosen for the project! (Laughs.) What happened to Defund the Police is that people don’t understand how they’re impacted by propaganda in the 21st century. It approaches mind control. The science of it is so tight but there’s not enough humility in our movements to understand and engage that. Now we’ve missed the bus. This guy got elected and a lot of people are screaming, “I want to get involved.” And it’s like, “I’m sorry to break it to you but the time to get involved was before he got elected.”
This is an “I told you so” moment but it’s also a “frameworks and principles” moment. Principle one: we got outmaneuvered. Principle two: if you’ve been out-maneuvered that means you’re two steps behind. Principle three: the worst thing you can do if you are two steps behind is rush forward; they’ve already prepared their response to what we’re going to do. Principle four: it is vital for us to stop and pause. Inaction is also a strategy. Bayo Akomolafe says, “Times are urgent, let us slow down.”
For me, clarity is hope. Clarity is the only foundation on which you can build power that belongs to you. Power is the only thing that can change this world. So, I invite people to engage these difficult topics with the mindset that the clearer you get, the more powerful you become. And the more powerful you become, the more hope we have.
Emile Suotonye DeWeaver speaks at 6pm on July 18 at the UC Santa Cruz Institute of the Arts and Sciences, 100 Panetta Ave, Santa Cruz.ias.ucsc.edu
Listen to this interview with Emile DeWeaver on Thursday at noon on “Transformation Highway” with John Malkin on KZSC 88.1 FM / kzsc.org.
Published in cooperation between casino.org and Good Times Santa Cruz
Online gambling is currently illegal in California as of April 2025, and the wide-ranging state ban includes all online sportsbooks and casino sites. However, the broader national picture for iGaming in the United States has witnessed significant landmark changes in recent years, causing many industry experts to speculate about when certain states might move to introduce more permissive online gambling legislation. Despite some failed efforts to legalize gambling activities in California, the state still appears a long way away from making any notable changes to its heavily restrictive legal framework. In this article, we’ve examined if and when we might expect online gambling to be legalized in the Golden State.
The Role of the California Electorate
In November 2022, two key ballots indicated the largely anti-gambling stance of much of the California electorate, as the majority of voters rejected two major propositions aimed at legalizing sports betting activities. Following on from the landmark Supreme Court decision to remove the federal sports betting ban in 2018, legislators and industry leaders in many U.S.states began to explore the new possibilities for opening up their own legal and regulated markets. In California, Proposition 26 aimed to legalize in-person sports betting at tribal casinos and racing tracks, while Proposition 27 was backed by major online gaming companies aiming to legalize online sports betting sites in the state. Both initiatives were overwhelmingly rejected by the electorate, with Prop. 27 receiving a particularly large opposition from 82.28 percent of voters, making it one of the largest margins of defeat for any proposition in history.
This fascinating moment in Californian voting history revealed many interesting elements of public opinion in the state. Many voters indicated concerns about youth exposure to online gambling, suggesting that tighter and clearer regulatory frameworks may need to be put forward in order to gain the support and trust of the electorate. Alongside this, many voters in California are supportive of Native American tribal interests in the state, meaning that they followed the lead of the tribes who voted against Prop. 27. Instead of welcoming major companies with open arms, some Californians may have felt that local interests would not be prioritized by these larger iGaming businesses. Clearly, there are many reservations among voters here about the expansion of online gambling activities, which will undoubtedly take some time to evolve. The result of both ballots also highlighted the significant influence of tribal gaming throughout the state, as its leadership will clearly be instrumental in any future decision-making about online gambling law.
The Future of Gambling Legislation in California
The current landscape in California remains the same, with a highly restrictive approach to all forms of gambling. However, despite the significant blow to progress in 2022, there have since been renewed discussions between tribal leaders and major gaming companies about a changing future for legalization in the state. Since tribal casinos in the area are exempt from prohibitive law, they currently dominate California’s brick-and-mortar gambling industry, typically generating over $8 billion USD in annual gaming revenue. During the events of 2022, it undoubtedly became clear that the tribes must also lead the way forward for online gambling. To acknowledge this, in a recent appearance at the annual Indian Gaming Tradeshow and Convention, DraftKings CEO Jason Robins and FanDuel President Christian Genetski recognized the importance of tribal partnerships and outlined their hopes for a more constructive, collaborative future.
Evidently, any possible future changes to gambling legislation in the Golden State will need to be agreed upon in collaboration between legislators, iGaming operators and the 109 recognized tribes in the state today. This poses a significant challenge for those seeking to open up a more permissive legal framework in the state and certainly means that many years of debate and conversation will need to take place before we are to see any significant movements. The introduction of new laws in California regarding sports betting and online casino gaming will therefore take at least a few years to materialize, with some experts stating that 2028 is the most likely current target for any significant changes to take place. Ultimately, learning from the failures of previous propositions will be the most vital task for those pushing for change.
While the current situation in California is clearly complicated, there are, of course, many groups within the state who do support the opening of a legal and regulated online gambling market. With many American iGaming fans now regularly checking casino promo codes and enjoying online casino games in states like New Jersey and Michigan, many California gamers will undoubtedly be keen to follow suit as soon as possible. And having witnessed the massive revenue generated by these new domestic online casino markets, many leading government officials and gaming industry experts are keen to bring about the enormous economic uplift that legalization can generate. Total iGaming revenue in New Jersey hit a record $243.9 billion USD in March 2025, demonstrating that the Golden State’s economy could clearly receive a similarly significant boost if it loosens its legislation.
Ultimately, due to the state’s complex political landscape, any notable changes to online gambling legislation in California will undoubtedly be at least a few more years away. Changemakers must navigate the powerful influence of tribes in the area, as well as the cautious outlook of the electorate, which indicates that wide-ranging conversations between all stakeholders will need to take place before we see any meaningful action. Despite this, some industry experts are cautiously optimistic about the likelihood of a more permissive future for iGaming in California. As the national legislative landscape continues to change at a dramatic pace, the United States is certainly becoming more open to online casino and sports betting activity, with the generation of significant tax revenue offering a clear incentive for many state governments. With American citizens demonstrating increasing demand for casual gaming and wagering opportunities, it is certainly possible that California could legalize online gambling within the next decade. Whatever happens, it will be fascinating to watch the negotiations unfold.
Where would you bring a first-time visitor to Santa Cruz?
ARIANA, left, and MICA
Hanuman Temple at Mount Madonna Center. The community there is so welcoming, and the temple is like stepping into another country.
Ariana Sandoval, 24, Chemical Engineer Mika Saad, 22, Writer
LUKE
Pacific Avenue, for a Sunday afternoon stroll — with a stop at Chocolate Café for a Passionfruit Margarita and their Cheese Bowl with focaccia.
Luke Shepherd, 35, UCSC Music Teacher
ROXANNE
Up in the redwoods of Aptos. I like to camp and being in the woods, and I especially love The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park.
Roxanne Thomas, 19, Forestry Major at Columbia College
DAVID
We would take a walk along West Cliff and watch the surfing at Steamer Lane and then play at Lighthouse Park.
David Pattee, 69, Pastor at Peace United Church of Christ
KERRY
Natural Bridges. It’s got a bit of everything. You have a little hiking and the beach and the beautiful rocks. And you have butterflies at the right time of year.
Kerry Krouse, 53, Writer / Teacher
JAMES
The Crow’s Nest! People ask me where they can go to eat that’s not so touristy and not too expensive. The Crow’s Nest food is excellent, and the hospitality and service is good.
There are other cities in California that claim to be the U.S. surf capital, but our cover story makes a convincing case that Santa Cruz is where the sport started on the mainland. Yes, Hawaii was really first, but at that time, 1885, Hawaii was its own country.
When three of its princes climbed on boards made of redwood and hit the waves off the San Lorenzo River, the local sport was born.
It’s amazing to think back to that time in light of how popular the sport became. Imagine seeing the first people standing on water and riding the waves. Our cover story by Geoffrey Dunn and Kim Stoner takes you back through time and gives you some context both for surfing and the people who brought it here. This is some fun history and will delight even those who aren’t history buffs.
You can also relive it at the Museum of Art & History downtown, a place that has become our city center and deserves all the support we can give it. It has become a true cultural, musical and artistic heart of Santa Cruz.
Speaking of which, two local promoters are having their first new event at the Museum this week, called “Legends Live & Local.” It’s already sold out but supporting activities like it will help bring in more. This one features Go-Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin, who will talk about her time with the hot ’80s girl group, which recently appeared at Coachella.
Here’s the wild part: Jane will be backed up by a super group of local musicians who are in their teens and up. It’s a chance to see our locals backing an international star, and promoters Matthew Swinnerton and Jennifer Otter Bickerdike want to bring in more celebrities for events.
This is the kind of thinking we need in this town…people with big visions combining national and local talent. It gives us all a reason to get out and see things even better than anything over the hill.
Speaking of which, I see internationally known country star Lacy J. Dalton, who got her start in Santa Cruz, is coming back on Aug. 16, playing the intimate El Vaquero Winery. That’s huge!
On other fronts, Watsonville started its Second Saturday festival, like Santa Cruz’s First Friday, and the response was great. That’s what I’m talking about.
And the MAH had a dog fashion show Sunday, as you can see in the photo on this page. It sounded too crazy for me not to check it out, and I loved it. We’ve got so many innovative thinkers here who know how to put on a Good Time (pun intended).
Thanks for reading.
BradKava | Editor
PHOTO CONTEST
DOGGY STYLE So much cuteness at the Museum of Art & History Sunday for the Santa Cruz SPCA’s Dog Fashion Show. Photograph by Joan Hammel
GOOD IDEA
Dr.Jill Biden, a lifelong public school and community college educator and former First Lady of the United States, will speak at Kaiser Permanente Arena at 7pm Saturday, Sept. 27. Tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, July 17 at 9 a.m. and can be purchased via Ticketmaster.com. Early access to tickets will be available through a series of exclusive presale events on Wednesday, July 16. Those interested in receiving presale access are encouraged to sign up for Warriors Insider (search Santa Cruz Warriors Insider).
GOOD WORK
The True Love Christian Music & Art Festival this Saturday in Aptos Village Park features over 12 churches gathering together to share their True Love for God and their neighbors.
All FREE including food, ice cream, 12 bands on two stages sharing about True Love, joyful activities for the whole family. Features include a climbing wall, art painting, bounce houses, a mechanical bull, gunny sack races, face painting and more. 10:30am-6pm.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
‘Modern Americans behave as if intelligence were some kind of hideous deformity.’ –Frank Zappa
I was born in the deep south, Bakersfield. On April 19 I drive to the reddest of red California, to cover a Kern County "Hands Off!" rally in my hometown. Most of them have never protested before.
“Grungtry” is how Sarah Rebecca Harris, lead singer and founder of Dolly Creamer, describes their sound: a fusion of experimental folk and Americana mixed with punk and rock & roll.
Go-Go’s guitarist Jane Wiedlin performs at the Museum of Art & History July 17 with a "super-group" of local musicians. An Evening with Jane Wiedlin TONIGHT at MAH! 6:30–10pm
Published in cooperation between casino.org and Good Times Santa Cruz
Online gambling is currently illegal in California as of April 2025, and the wide-ranging state ban includes all online sportsbooks and casino sites. However, the broader national picture for iGaming in the United States has witnessed significant landmark changes in recent years, causing many industry experts to speculate about when...
Where would you bring a first-time visitor to Santa Cruz?
Hanuman Temple at Mount Madonna Center. The community there is so welcoming, and the temple is like stepping into another country.
Ariana Sandoval, 24, Chemical EngineerMika Saad, 22, Writer
Pacific Avenue, for a Sunday afternoon stroll — with a stop at Chocolate Café for a Passionfruit Margarita and their Cheese Bowl with...
There are other cities in California that claim to be the U.S. surf capital, but our cover story makes a convincing case that Santa Cruz is where the sport started on the mainland.
