Election Day Is Here!

Gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown has overtaken Meg Whitman in the latest polls.

Tired of robocalls, of people knocking on your door, of junk mail galore expounding the virtues of this candidate or that? Tired of seeing signs plastered across every lawn and public space, espousing the same tired names and encouraging you to vote Yes or No? Yes or No? The light at the end of the tunnel is here, and sorry, Jon Stewart, but it isn’t New Jersey. Election Day is finally here, and this round of bickering will soon be over.

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Unofficial Halloween Party More or Less Peaceful

Thousands of people swarmed Pacific Avenue on Sunday night for an unofficial Halloween Party that combined pop culture and politics. Lady Gaga rubbed shoulders with pirates, blue Na’vi women (from Avatar) and superheroes while musicians played and people strolled along the street, in shoes and on stilts. A few people held a rally in support of Proposition 19, handing out stickers with the logo, “Yes We Cannabis.”

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Robber Offers $1,000 for Getaway Ride

A man robbed a Capitola bank of an undisclosed amount of money, then reportedly offered passersby $1,000 to give him a ride to Santa Cruz with his heist. Police are still looking for the suspect, described as a transient in his forties or fifties, with gray hair and poor hygiene. He was wearing jeans, a gray sweatshirt, and black shoes.

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Van Cliburn Winner in Santa Cruz

Back in the 14th century, poet/composer Guillume de Machaut is said to have described the pipe organ as “the king of instruments.” He had no idea that in two short centuries his descendent composers would begin to replace Pythagorean tuning with the early forms of the equal-tempered scale. He likewise would have had no way of imagining the rise of modern harmony that resulted, much less the explosion of instrumental music that would launch the Baroque era and dominate Western European music for centuries to come. If he had, Guillaume would be forced to concede that the concert grand piano is the true king of instruments.

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