A Poignant Portrait in ‘The Last Five Years’

A Poignant Portrait in ‘The Last Five Years’

Based on the failed marriage of writer and composer Jason Robert Brown, The Last Five Years is a painfully realistic portrait of a relationship running its course. From the opening song, “Still Hurting,” to the final scene’s goodbyes, Cabrillo Stage’s production of the Tony Award-winning one-act musical keeps the audience feeling connected, enough so that on opening night, viewers rewarded the cast with a standing ovation.

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PLATED: Big Love

Cynthia Sandberg checks seedlings at Love Apple Farm. Photo by Christina Waters.

Spurt   “Our early group of apprentices were all interested in becoming organic growers,” Cynthia Sandberg recalls of Love Apple Farm’s salad days. “Now more of our apprentices are cooking people.” That includes a recent French Culinary Institute graduate from Boston, who on a recent afternoon was busy planting erosion control perennials along the steep slope of Sandberg’s new vibrant acreage above Scotts Valley.

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Two Dead in Airplane Crash Into Hospital

Two people were killed when a four-seater airplane barreled into the Watsonville Community Hospital on Thursday evening. The single engine Mooney, which took off from Watsonville Municipal Airport, was struggling to get above the fog line when it crashed. The victims were the pilot and a passenger.

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Woman Killed in Skateboarding Accident in Capitola Village

Skateboarding is banned in Capitola Village, but not everyone abides by this rule. On Wednesday afternoon, a 17-year-old aficionado was barreling down the Cliff Drive hill in the direction of the Stockton Avenue bridge at 20 miles per hour. Just then, Maryanne Slettehaugh, 83, was crossing the street. The teen saw her and leapt from his board, but flew into Slettehaugh, knocking her down. Police say that she died of her injuries.

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PLATED: Mission Accomplished

Serious about espresso and fresh-dripped coffees, and yet invitingly playful in terms of its neighborhood ambiance, Coffeetopia is the go-to caffeine emporium for thoughtful bohemians, students, surfers, cyclists, software designers and commuters. I often meet my literary friend for kvetch sessions at the cozy Coffeetopia on Capitola Road. And I find myself even more often at the Mission Street branch of this java junkies’ joint. In addition to fresh-baked tea breads and superior dark roast, Coffeetopia now boasts another secret weapon: Mission Hill Creamery artisanal ice creams. OMG is an appropriate response to that information. If you can’t get to the Saturday farmers market for some of David Kumec‘s outrageous, organic, all-Straus Family Creamery specialty, then you need only hit your local Coffeetopia.

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