The pilot never had a chance. He was flying a 1942 biplane when he was intercepted by an F-15 fighter jet. In terrestrial terms it’s like a Model-T Ford taking on an M1A1 tank. The problem was that he had violated a temporary 30-mile no-fly zone put in place during President Obama’s visit to LinkedIn headquarters in Mountain View. “Dang, that looks like Top Gun,” said County Sheriff Phil Wowak, who happened to witness the incident.

The SCPD marked the retirement of one of its most trusted members after 56 years on the force—well, dog years. There was no gold watch or even a gold collar for Jax, who has served on the police force for the past eight (human) years, but there will be plenty of doggie treats ahead.

Brian Lavelle of Los Gatos and Erika Erickson of Berkeley took first in men’s and women’s divisions, respectively, of the Santa Cruz Triathlon.

An Australian blogger claims Facebook is following users after they log out of the website.

Christopher Doyon, 47, was arrested by the FBI Thursday for allegedly hacking into the Santa Cruz County website in December. Doyon, who seems to have been involved in the two-month-long sleeping ban protest in front of the courthouse and Santa Cruz City Hall last year, is believed to be part of a Boston-based group with ties to Anonymous, the hacking collective.

Last night was the premiere of the X Factor, Simon Cowell’s latest reality music show, where the have-talents compete with the deluded-but-untalented for a grand prize of $5 million. Santa Cruz has done well in these types of shows before—remember James Durbin? In a bid to get recognized as the reality music star capital of the nation, another local performer blew the judges away.

When Reilly Meehan was a boy, he worked at the Seabright Brewery, which happens to be co-owned by his father.

When UCSC’s McHenry Library first opened 35 years ago, the school had only about 1,000 students. Today the campus is home to 16,000, and the library had some catching up to do. A new wing was opened in 2008, but the older wing was still under renovation, or at least it was.  As of this week the library is fully open for business.

Greece was in the news this weekend, not only because bankers around the world were watching to see if the country defaults, but also because Californians from across the Bay Area gathered in the Santa Cruz agora for the 31st Annual Greek Festival. Here was a chance to get a taste of Greece, and as anyone who’s ever been to Greece or even seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding knows, there’s no such thing as a little taste of Greece.