James Durbin may not have made the top three on American Idol, but no one would have thought it after the reception he received on Saturday from the people of Santa Cruz. The Idol cameras weren’t at the Boardwalk, but 15,000 screaming fans were as Durbin took the stage.
News
State Parks Closure List Released
Most of the 14 state parks in Santa Cruz County escaped the axe today when the California Department of Parks and Recreation announced its closure list. But not all. Slated for closure—which reportedly means reduced services starting in the summer and padlocks on the gates by July 1 of 2012— are Castle Rock State Park (site of the Skyline-to-the-Sea trailhead), Portola Redwoods State Park, Santa Cruz Mission State Historic Park, Twin Lakes State Beach and its subsidiary beach (for administrative purposes, anyway) Seabright State Beach. Statewide, 70 parks, or 25 percent of the state total of 278, got their pink slips.
Durbin Gets the Boot
There are still two more episodes of American Idol this season, but now that James Durbin got the boot, America has already picked its idol: the commercialization of music. The final three were not judged by their talent but by their appeal to a specific demographic. Lauren Alaina and Scotty McCreery are two of a kind. They are one-trick ponies who sing country and appeal to the prepubescent girl demographic, the same demographic that would vote for Justin Bieber over, say, Bob Dylan, or for those three annoying brothers whose names escape me (perhaps because they were so forgettable) over the Rolling Stones. While the third contestant, Haley Reinhart, may have had some sass, her performances were mixed. She did, however, appeal to all the little girls, who wanted to be just like her.
Gaga Goes Gaga For James
Theoretically, American Idol did a good thing last night—it put James right at the beginning and then again, right at the end. In a perfect world, it meant that I could have catnapped for an entire hour between the two performances. Unfortunately, this is when people must keep their eyes fully on the competition, and so the catnap was a little less restful. Oh, those sneaky, sly producers! No wonder they get the big bucks.
Bring Durbin Home
Santa Cruz is going Durbinsane. Even the Sentinel is featuring pro-James statements from James’s not-so-close relatives and friends. There’s the barber who does his dentist’s hair, a theater arts teacher at Cabrillo College who once saw James perform live, the mother of his sister’s friend from middle school, the mother of the director of a high school play he was in, a man whose sister went to high school with James’s father, and (gasp!) someone who once did karaoke the same night as him. What else can describe it but Durbinsanity?!
City Council Split Over Immigration
Santa Cruz has long been known as a “Sanctuary City,” which means it does not spend its resources on deporting illegal immigrants. That could soon be changing, though, after a contentious City Council meeting on Tuesday. In the end, councilmembers voted 4-3 not to support new state legislation allowing local authorities to opt out of a federal immigration reporting-and-detention program. The majority decided that it was not the role of city council to advise the sheriff’s office on how to respond to federal issues.
California Screenin’
John Steinbeck famously opened his 1945 novel Cannery Row with the observation, “California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.” OK, so it actually starts “Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise…” but the street is a microcosm of a larger and even more complex and stirring composite. In May 2010, local filmmaker, blogger and director of the Santa Cruz Institute of Contemporary Arts Kirby Scudder set out on a yearlong project with filmmaker Mark Halfmoon to ascertain whether, in spite of her current problems, the Golden State still has the ability to inspire her inhabitants.
Santa Cruz Poets, Santa Cruz Inspiration: More David Sullivan
From the Cabrillo College literature and film instructor, a poem titled ‘Point Lobos Tidepool Encounter.’
PLATED: Beautiful Mess
For decades I’ve sworn by Zachary’s as the heartland of the über breakfast. Between the endless cups of better-than-decent java, the sensuous jalapeño cornbread and the sinful sourdough pancakes, Zachary’s puts out superior breakfast product. And this week we renewed our adoration with a post-workout visit to the home of Mike’s Mess.
Santa Cruz Sound Garden
Mesut Ozgen of the Santa Cruz Guitar Orchestra is more than a music conductor. He’s a tough coach. “You can’t leave!” the UCSC music professor tells an orchestra member in the back row as the group practices for its May 17 performance at Kuumbwa. “But I told you,” the musician barks back, “I have a professional rehearsal!”
