Growing Up Potter

Daniel Radcliffe has played Harry Potter in eight films since 2001.

Every generation has its defining moments. The way folks of a certain age remember exactly where they were when J.F.K. was shot or when they watched Princess Diana walk down the aisle, I remember where I was at 10 minutes to 8am on July 21, 2007: the parking lot of a Target off I-5 somewhere in the Central Valley.

Continue Reading →

In Soquel, A Luthier’s Mystery Solved

David Morse measures out ingredients for varnish. Photo by Chip Scheuer.

The violin was not David Morse’s first calling. Between 1978 and 1993, he made fine guitars for clients worldwide at the rate of two to three per year. His foray into the world of violins began in 1984 when he collected damaged and discarded instruments from public schools in Tucson and reconditioned them for students and amateur players at The Soundpost, his shop in Santa Cruz. He began building his own violins around 1986, closed The Soundpost in 1991, and has produced fine instruments from his Soquel workshop ever since.

Continue Reading →

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.

Continue Reading →

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.

Continue Reading →

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.

Continue Reading →

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.

Continue Reading →