Traci Hukill

Staff Writer

PLATED: Santa Cruz Mountains of Wine

PLATED: Santa Cruz Mountains of Wine

Last Saturday saw the grand re-opening of Vinocruz, now the baby of Steve Principe and Jennifer Walker of Network Mortgage. Over the course of the afternoon some 150 guests streamed in and out of the cozy space next to the Museum of Art and History and lounged around tables on the petite outdoor patio, sipping the wines of Alfaro Family Vineyards courtesy the always-charming Richard Alfaro.

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Red-Legged Frogs Get Their Closeup

Sebastian Kennernecht's photos are at the SC Museum of Natural History thru Sept. 10.

“Smiley said all a frog wanted was education,” the long-winded raconteur says in Mark Twain’s “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County,” and sure enough, Dan’l Webster, the athletic amphibian of the title, just needs a little coaching to bring out his greatness. But biologists studying the threatened red-legged frog—long assumed to be Daniel Webster’s breed—would add one or two things to the list of the frogs’ needs. Like habitat, for starters, preferably without bullfrogs.

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CORRECTED: Monning, Stone, Robinson Announce Campaigns

Assembly Disrict 27 rep Bill Monning is running for state Senate.

The election season game of musical chairs has begun. The announcement Monday by Carmel Democrat Bill Monning that he will challenge incumbent Republican Sam Blakeslee for the Central Coast’s Senate seat touched off a minor flurry of activity early this week among Santa Cruz Democrats. First, just hours after Monning’s announcement, County Supervisor Mark Stone declared his candidacy for Monning’s Assembly seat, which is considered safe for Democrats. On Tuesday, Santa Cruz Councilmember Lynn Robinson threw her hat in the ring for the Assembly seat as well.

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