Over the past decade, the Surf City AIDS Ride has raised more than $100,000 for the Santa Cruz AIDS Project, thanks to bicyclists willing to submit themselves to impressive 30-, 60- or 100-mile treks around the county. It’s a journey that offers its own rewards, but this year there will be something a little extra at the finish line—a music festival that brings together some of the city’s brightest musical talents.
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The Exhibitionist: Eike & Sheila
In “Sex & City” at the Mill Gallery, prepare to meet favorite body parts, some exuding steamy essence, perhaps in closeup or on figures in interlocking embrace; extended tongues in cheeky gestures; a neon phallus; red vinyl lips. If it all becomes exhausting, there are twin bathtubs inviting visitors to step in, relax, lean back on the cushions, hold hands and—what are these pills? A twisted torrent of limbs—swans wearing the torsos and legs of ballet dancers— tumbles down two stories at the center of the space. Indeed, this exhibition of work by Sheila Halligan-Waltz and Eike Waltz screams SEX. It doesn’t mean it. The works are erotically posed but not erotic. They are stories circling a central idea. “Sex & City” is not an exhibition of art objects. The exhibition is the artwork, and the subject is living passionately.
Reviving Spirits, Soquel to Sonoma
If all goes well, Dan Farber’s grandchildren will raise a glass and toast him for a job well done. That’s a long way off. His kids are still in grade school and he doesn’t have any grandchildren yet. But Farber, 48, is working for the ages. The fruits of his labor are meant to outlast him.
Fred Eaglesmith, Back in Santa Cruz
After 30 years of ramshackle, redneck storytelling about cars, guns and booze, Fred Eaglesmith has found his soft side. Cha Cha Cha, the prolific, under-the radar songwriter’s 18th album, is a swampy, noirish landscape of minor keys, rattling percussion, female backup singers and a far more subdued iteration of Eaglesmith’s signature rasp. His lyrics are lonesome, pleading for departed lovers to return and quell his inner torment. Even to diehard Fredheads, as his legions of fans call themselves, the record is a complete curveball, departing radically from the rollicking, good-natured Eaglesmith of old.
NextSpace To Scout Santa Cruz-Area Entrepreneurs
Two years after opening its doors as an innovative co-working habitat, NextSpace is making a small but crucial shift from provider of workspace and wi-fi for freelancers to talent scout and mentor for budding entrepreneurs. As part of a new partnership with Menlo Park-based firm Wavepoint Ventures—its first tango with venture capital— NextSpace will identify and coach four to six entrepreneurial concerns each year from the Monterey Bay area. A small but as-yet-undetermined number of those will be selected by Wavepoint for funding, wildest-dreams-come-true-making, etc.
More Gun Violence in Santa Cruz
After a violent weekend that left one dead and two injured, the SCPD are now looking for a man who fired into a home near Woodrow Avenue and Walk Circle on Monday evening. According to police, the suspect, a short, bald Latino man of about 23, fired three shots from a revolver into the house at about 6:40 pm, and then fled the scene on a mountain bike.
Rise of The Santa Cruz Moderates
The news shows on Kristina Quilici’s television have been saying the same thing for months: “Voters are angry.” “Incumbents are in danger.” “Democrats are done.” She’s watched the rise of the Tea Party and the ouster of longtime pols in brutal primaries. But when she turns off the TV and steps out of her Bay Street home to talk about what issues are important to her locally, pragmatism trumps ideology. What matters to her is what kind of education her three children will get and what jobs will await them when they graduate. It’s the same for Bridget McNeil, Mark Statson and Kathy Donovan, three more working Santa Cruzans. Respectively they list “jobs,” “public safety” and “social services” as their top issues.
A Beautiful Day For The Triathlon
The weather was perfect on Sunday for the city’s 28th Annual Triathlon.
A Violent Weekend in Santa Cruz
Police are investigating the shooting death of Omar Alejandro Lopez at 1am Saturday. Lopez was sitting in the passenger seat of a car on 17th Avenue and Rodriguez Street when an unidentified assailant came up from behind and shot him. His friend, who was in the driver’s seat, drove to a local gas station and called the police, but it was too late. Lopez was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are still investigating the murder, but say that they have very few leads. They do, however, believe that Lopez, 22, was specifically targeted, and advise residents of the normally quiet neighborhood that they do not think that they are in any danger. It was the city’s 13th homicide this year.
Former Mayor Breeds World-Class Flowers
Some people breed orchids while others breed roses. Then there’s Joe Ghio, a Santa Cruz native who served as mayor in 1975, 1977 and 1980. He breeds irises, and he’s considered one of the top hybridizers in the world. In 1980, he received the American Iris Society Dykes Memorial Medal, a rare honor for iris breeders, with only one awarded per year. Thirty years later, 71-year-old Ghio is hoping to break all precedents by winning the medal a second time.
