A group of sixth graders from Santa Cruz spent a rainy Saturday hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains, searching for mountain lions. They didn’t see any, but they certainly saw plenty of signs of the animals, including the remnants of past meals and, to their excitement, plenty of lion poop. At first they thought it could have been dog poop, but upon closer inspection, they found little bits of hair and bone in it—not something they find in animals’ reprocessed Alpo.
Gov. Brown’s Options
It looks like a familiar set-up. In a YouTube video titled “Governor Jerry Brown Checks in with The People of California,” the screen flashes an animated version of the official state seal before cutting to the governor seated at his desk. As California’s chief executive starts enumerating the Golden State’s many problems, the viewer half-expects him to stop mid-sentence, lean over the desk and announce, “And LIVE FROM NEW YORK, IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT!”
Last Chapter for Gateways
Borders, which has begun closing its Santa Cruz store along with 200 others nationwide, isn’t the only local bookselling casualty of this foot-dragging recession. Gateways Books closed its doors on Saturday, March 26, ending a 32-year run for the nonprofit spiritual bookstore. In the 5,000-square-foot emporium’s final days, its vast book collection dwindled to a few small volumes on mostly empty shelves.
James Durbin to Sing Elton John
Rumor has it that this week’s episode of American Idol will feature songs by Elton John. It will also end with two contestants being booted off the show for butchering an Elton John song. Obviously James Durbin will not be booted, but that begs the question: What song should he sing?
Soggy Capitola Cleans Up
Capitola is still cleaning up from the flooding that struck on Saturday. It was the second flood in as many days, both caused by a ruptured drain pipe that overflowed at the Pacific Cove Mobile Home Park near Bay Avenue. Plans are underway to replace the pipe by the end of the week, but a 60-inch, 300-foot long pipe could cost as much as $1 million.
Storm Evacuations in Santa Cruz Mountains
The stormy weather took its toll on residents of the Santa Cruz Mountains. At 3:15pm yesterday afternoon, people living in Felton Grove, Gold Gulch and Paradise Park received an automated call from the authorities telling them to evacuate. The problem, they were notified, was the rising water level of the San Lorenzo River, which threatened to overflow its banks. The Office of Emergency Services continued measuring the water level, which showed signs of receding shortly after.
Wrestlemania at Idol
The results shows on American Idol have a tradition of drawing out five minutes of TV time into an hour-long episode. Last night was different, however, so kudos to the producers. The show was actually entertaining. It was also a chance to learn more about James Durbin.
Man Involved in Fatal Crash Arrested for DUI
Donovan Hicks Barclay III was arrested shortly after midnight on Tuesday for violating the conditions of his release from prison for a DUI.
Rodeo Vote Delayed
Will there be a rodeo in Santa Cruz County? It’s still too early to tell. The Fair Board was scheduled to vote on it on Tuesday, but eventually decided to delay its decision, saying that insufficient notice had been given to all the interested parties.
Jamie Wondurbin
Last night was Motown night on American Idol, and quite the show it was. There were so many questions hanging in the air, like how country boy Scotty McCreery would handle the urban sounds of Detroit—For Once in My Life, with a distinctive country twang, of course. How would Paul McDonald, a Rod Stewart wannabe with glow-in-the-dark teeth, handle Smokey Robinson’s Tracks of My Tears? And then there was Thia Megia, who had never heard the Beatles and never heard of Charlie Chaplin, tackling My Love is Like a Heat Wave by Martha and the Vandellas, especially since one of the Vandellas, Sandra Tilley, died 15 years before Thia was born?
