In recent years, Santa Cruz has developed an active and vibrant tech community—in fact, tech has become so prominent so quickly, new startups are sprouting up all over town.
In Search of the Pu-erh High
Several months ago, a friend served me pu-erh tea for the first time. He talked of an “expansion” and a “clear headedness”—highs that sounded particularly useful at the time. After the first miniature cup, a calm washed over me. I felt relaxed, yet more mentally open than I had been even 30 seconds before.
Posner to Run for Santa Cruz Council
People Power director Micah Posner announced his decision to run for Santa Cruz City Council this morning, April 13, citing his knowledge of city politics and his understanding of social movements. Posner, who will be leaving his post at the alternative transportation-based organization on July 1, says he knows how to effect change by combining those experiences.
National Poetry Month Ramps Up
T.S. ELIOT’s The Waste Land opens with this: “April is the cruelest month, breeding/ Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing/Memory and desire, stirring/Dull roots with spring rain.” Had the great modernist complained of September, National Poetry Month might have been lost amid county fairs and the first weeks of school.
Author John Robbins, Other Progressives Denounce ‘Thrive’
Last fall, the acclaimed environmentalist and nutrition guru John Robbins was invited to the home of his friends Foster and Kimberly Carter Gamble, near Santa Cruz, to view the Gambles’ just-completed film, Thrive. Robbins, who makes a brief appearance in the film, says he was “overwhelmed” by what he saw.
Gala Offers Sustainable Fish Solutions
If you savor sustainability in the way of choice seafood and want to sample exciting fish dishes created by celebrity chefs from around the country, mark your calendar for May 18-20 and the latest Monterey Bay Aquarium Cooking For Solutions. It promises to be three days of foodie fish-lover’s heaven.
Firehose’s Surprising Journey and Santa Cruz Connection
Firehose will always be associated with Mike Watt’s beloved hometown of San Pedro, but the truth is that if it weren’t for Santa Cruz, the band never would have existed.
Nonprofit Targets Island Invaders to Restore World’s Rare Species
ONE HUNDRED fifty miles off the coast of Baja California, jagged Guadalupe Island climbs more than 4,000 feet above the Pacific. Throughout the year elephant seals, Guadalupe fur seals and scores of seabirds call this volcanic island home. They dive for fish in the island’s rich waters and use the secluded shoreline to escape white sharks, recuperate from migration and raise their young. Today, the isolated landmass supports a thriving community of rare plants and animals. But it wasn’t always this way.
Juncos Bend Genres
In 2001, Joshua Lowe walked into More Music, his George W. Bush economic stimulus money in hand, and bought his first mandolin. He knew a few chords on the guitar, but he had never taken it seriously, and on the heels of a breakup from a longtime girlfriend he needed an outlet. He liked the instrument’s percussive chk chk chk.
Letters to the Editor, April 11-17
One reader defends a local documentary film and says being crazy is nothing special. Other readers take a close look at the occupation of 75 River Street.
