The skies above Santa Cruz will soon be speckled in orange and black as the monarch butterfly begins migrating southward and westward for the winter. This Sunday, lepidopterists and fall color enthusiasts from across the county converged on Natural Bridges State Beach to see the monarch butterflies return to Santa Cruz in a blaze of orange and black. The park’s eucalyptus grove is the only monarch preserve in California, and Sunday marked the 24th annual Welcome Back Monarchs Day.
News
Machinima, Unlikely Offspring of Video and Film
Future film historians might look back on the past decade and pinpoint it either as the beginning of the medium’s demise or its evolution into something vital, egalitarian and ubiquitous. Of course, the very notion of “film” is already antiquated seeing as the vast majority of moving pictures are now created digitally (even the term “digital video” sounds quaintly redundant). Where the culture critics of tomorrow may think today’s directors jumped the shark is in the realm of “machinima,” a video subgenre that emerged in the aughts in which would-be directors realized they didn’t need a camera or even actors to put the power of cinema in their hands—literally—by way of a game-controller.
Rallies to Defend Public Education
They rallied at UCSC—inevitably—but also in Watsonville and downtown Santa Cruz. They waved signs that read, “Witness the death of public education.” As the state senate prepared to finally pass the budget, students across Santa Cruz County demanded that their legislators protect the state’s colleges and universities. It was the National Day of Action to Defend Public Education, and students and professors alike demanded that their voices be heard.
Can Pot Cure What Ails California?
Efforts to legalize pot in the Golden State are so familiar as to seem both quaint and ripe for action at the same time. Come Nov. 2, voters will cast their ballots again on a proposal to legalize marijuana for recreational use in California.
SCPD Shuts Down Drug Ring
The SCPD, together with the DEA and ICE, shut down a major drug ring in Operation Southern Exposure. According to police, more than 40 people were arrested, including nine who were in the country illegally. Police also confiscated several pounds of drugs (cocaine, meth, heroin, ecstasy, and crack), 10 firearms and $25,000.
By Gosh, It’s Santa Cruz Dosh!
In February, local organizers from the New Earth Exchange hope to launch a new currency in Santa Cruz—something they say could be a boon to the county’s economy and help shield Santa Cruz from big economic crises. The as-yet-unnamed money—we’ll call it Cruz Cash for now—will exist on three levels: as physical, hard-to-counterfeit cash; as electronic funds transferable on the Internet and as a plastic card readable at participating businesses. Supporters claim it could add as much as $1 million to the local economy.
The Exhibitionist: ‘Visibly Invisible’
Difficult as it may be to “find oneself” during the course of that journey we all share, Cabrillo Gallery’s exhibition, “Visibly Invisible,” shows how, for some, that search became a hero’s quest. Curator Tobin Keller brought together five artists working in still photography, drawing and painting, film, video and multimedia to present perspectives, each very personal, on the issue of gender transformation. Subtitled “Artists Working with Transgendered Themes,” the exhibition voices truths relevant to the entire race, whatever gender, through its empathic focus on one group of people struggling with how to be who they are.
Santa Cruz Restaurant Week: The Gourmet Groundswell
Santa Cruz chefs are fiercely devoted to local, fresh, organic produce for their menus. And while that sort of culinary pickiness might challenge cooks in other parts of the country, our restaurants are surrounded by a bounty of organic growers who have cultivated close relationships with chefs over the years. Farm-to-table isn’t just another culinary fad here. It’s a way of life.
Netflix CEO Describes the Future of TV
TV aficionados are all abuzz about the news that Google is about to launch Google TV, redefining the experience of watching television. Soon fans will be able to Tweet about Glee and blog about baseball, live, for the world to see. There are plenty of surprises in store too, or as Google says, “The coolest thing about Google TV is that we don’t even know what the coolest thing about it will be.”
Kids Buying Cigarettes With Ease
Kids are finding it much easier to buy tobacco products these days, despite laws that regulate the sale of tobacco to minors. A study conducted in 2008 found that 17 percent of stores that sell tobacco in Santa Cruz County sold to minors without first asking for ID. Just two years later, 27 percent of the 142 stores visited sold tobacco to minors. Of these, 19 stores were in walking distance of a school or afterschool facility.
