Giovani diMaio was a local treasure for connoisseurs of fine Italian cuisine. The chef at the original Cafe Bella Napoli went on to found Limoncello, known for its limoncello liqueur-saturated frozen dessert. On Thursday diMaio found himself feasting on prison food after he was booked in the Santa Cruz County Jail. The chef was charged with possession of kiddie porn.
News
Laird and Blakeslee Prepare for Runoff
After the final tally came in on Friday, Republican Assemblymember Sam Blakeslee didn’t manage to cross the 50 percent threshold needed to give him the District 15 Senate seat outright. There was a brief window last week, as workers sorted through the last 17,000 mail-in and provisional ballots, when it was statistically possible for him to clinch it, but by Friday, the final count gave him 49.49 percent to Former-District 27 Assemblymember John Laird’s 41.73 percent. Blakeslee will face Laird, and long-shot candidates Jim Fitzgerald and Mark Hinkle, in an Aug. 17 runoff.
Grant Approved for SC Branch Line Purchase
At its meeting on Wednesday, the California Transportation Commission approved a $10.2 million grant to enable the acquisition of the rail line from Watsonville to Davenport. The decision came just in time. Proposition 116 funds were set to expire by the day’s end.
Local Anarchists Won’t Prosecute Rip-Off
“Crimes against property are driven by poverty and desperation.” It’s a fairly standard anarchist mantra, but what happens when the crimes against property are crimes against anarchist property? Police found out on Wednesday, when the burglar alarm went off at the SubRosa Café in Santa Cruz.
Rocks Still Flying in Santa Cruz
It’s one thing to throw rocks at windows. It’s another to throw them at random pedestrians and cyclists meandering along Soquel Drive. The SCPD is still trying to figure out who’s behind Santa Cruz’s homegrown version of the Intifada, or what could possibly be motivating them. The question everyone is asking is “Why?”
Hope and Disappointment
Yael Dayan, daughter of Gen. Moshe Dayan and a formidable member of one of Israel’s most influential families in her own right, recently spoke to a large audience at Temple Beth El in Aptos. Yael is an author, an activist for minority rights and a former Knesset member now on the city council of Tel Aviv-Jaffa.
Ear Surgeon Makes His Mark in Santa Cruz
Dr. Douglas Hetzler pioneered a drill-less surgery for fixing “surfer’s ear” a dozen years ago and has since treated some 800 ears. He’s also one of just a handful California doctors who performs the minimally invasive procedure, which is why patients come from Long Island and beyond to have Hetzler chisel tiny pieces of bone out of their ears.
Santa Cruz County Coalition to Overcome Racism Receives Grant
The WK Kellogg Foundation has awarded the Santa Cruz County Community Coalition to Overcome Racism a three-year, $150,000 grant to study systemic racism in the county. The council plans to use the money to investigate the extent of racism in local education, law enforcement, and immigration.
Santa Cruz County Gets the Dope on Dope
The figures are in. If California does decide to legalize pot, Santa Cruz County could benefit to the tune of $7 million dollars. This is what the Santa Cruz Grand Jury determined in a report entitled, “Getting the Dope on Dope: The Grand Jury Attempts to Clear the Smoke in the Joint from the Numbers.”
A Lohan Ban?
For a time even the break room at the downtown Santa Cruz New Leaf sported a photo of the troubled actress with the words “kombucha killer” scrawled across it.
