SLUG REPORT > Flight machines fueled solely by human power are hard to come by these days. But last Saturday, Nov. 10, San Francisco’s McCovey Cove welcomed a carefully selected 35 teams that tried their hand at human-powered flight. This year’s event was the 10th anniversary of Red Bull’s Flugtag, which in German, translates to “Flying Day.”

Since 2002, teams have jumped at the opportunity to launch their homemade human-powered flying machines off a 30-foot high flight deck in San Francisco. This year, however, was a noteworthy one for Santa Cruzans because a team of UC Santa Cruz classmates and friends competed. Their team, When Slugs Fly, represented our Surf City and the university by dressing up in banana suits and performing a skit prior to pushing their giant banana craft (with the pilot onboard) into hopeful flight.

“It’s such a challenging and fun concept—creating a theme, building a craft and executing it [skit and all],” says Greg Gerschenson, pilot of the When Slugs Fly team.

The big news of the night was President Barack Obama’s re-election. He received 74.7 percent of the reported votes in Santa Cruz County. His challenger, Mitt Romney, received 21 percent of local votes.

California had some notable wins and losses, as well. Although things were not looking good for Proposition 30 last night, the governor’s tax initiative pulled through and is now reported to have passed with 53.9 percent of the vote. Four other propositions emerged victorious—35, 36, 39 and 40—while the rest, including Proposition 34, which proposed repealing the death penalty in California, failed. Sixty-three percent of Santa Cruz County votes counted as of this morning were in favor of Prop. 34.

Santa Cruz County showed a high level of support—65.6 percent—for Proposition 37, which would have required the labeling of genetically modified foods. However, the proposition failed to pass statewide, garnering just 47 percent of the overall vote.

The Coldwater Classic makes waves in Santa Cruz

Local pro surfer Nat Young, who was awarded the Wild Card to compete in this year's O'Neill Coldwater Classic competition at Steamer Lane the day before, wowed spectators' and fueled Santa Cruz pride on Thursday, Nov. 1, when he came out on top during his heat against 11-time world champion Kelly Slater. It made for an exciting start to the 10-day event.

On Wednesday, Oct. 31, the 21-year-old went up against 11 other surfers, including locals Bud Freitas, Noi Kaulukukui, Adam Replogle, Josh Mulcoy, Randy Bonds, Shaun Burns, Josh Loya and Jimmy Herrick, to compete for an O'Neill Wild Card, which is designed to place more Santa Cruz locals like Young in the contest. The other Wild Card was issued to Jason “Rat Boy” Collins.

Can you match these baby photos with the Santa Cruz City Council candidates?

Even city council candidates were babies once. Five of the eight people running for four seats on the Santa Cruz City Council submitted photos of themselves as youngins—Jake Fusari, Cece Pinheiro, Pamela Comstock, Cynthia Mathews, and Micah Posner. Take a look at the photos and try to guess which is which. Then, scroll down to check the answers.

Gov. Jerry Brown visits UCSC to urge a yes vote on Proposition 30

With just over a week to go until the election, and the fate of Proposition 30 at stake, Gov. Jerry Brown stopped by UC Santa Cruz this morning, Friday, Oct. 26, to urge UCSC students to vote yes on the ballot measure. Brown's dog, a Pembroke Welsh corgi named Sutter Brown, is meanwhile making campaign appearances elsewhere in the state.

Prop. 30 is Gov. Brown's way of asking voters to approve temporary increases in sales tax and income taxes on top earners in order to avoid $6 billion in cuts to public education. The cuts will be automatically triggered if Prop. 30 does not pass.  

One thing’s for sure—clean clothes will never go out of style. Maybe that’s why Classic Vapor Cleaners, located at 285 Water St. in Santa Cruz, has been serving the public’s dry cleaning needs since 1911. To the untrained eye, it may be difficult to truly see the changes in dry cleaning technologies since then, but Classic Vapor says it has kept up with the latest and highest level of technologies and customer service.

“Our business model and commandment is really to educate ourselves, our staff, as well as our community,” says the fifth, and current, owner of Classic Cleaners, Pamela Whittington.

It is Santa Cruz’s longest continuously operating cleaners, and is celebrating its 100-year anniversary today, Wednesday, Oct. 24, by welcoming the people of Santa Cruz to enjoy a celebratory glass of champagne, hor d’oeuvres, and networking opportunities at their store.

This seasoned dry cleaning business encourages visitors to tour their facilities and learn about their adoption of more environmentally minded practices over the years, such as their EPA Certified Green Cleaning Processes.

NAVIGATING YOGA > Heartbreak. It's a feeling we all know—that pain in your chest brought on by the disappointment of another; when the one we love does not reciprocate in one way or another. This could be from the break-up of a long-term love or a short-term love you thought had the potential for more or the loss of a friendship. Even a disappointing first date or brief encounter can bring about forms of heartbreak. I believe that our heartbreak is often deeper when we experience the loss of what could be rather than what is. In this lies one of the better lessons in yoga: the idea that our expectations of what should and could be cloud our present and keep us from enjoying the moment. We’ve talked about how yoga can help bring us back to the present, how it can free us from the expectations that hold us back from being the happiest version of ourselves. We’ve talked about meditation—how meditation can clear the external and internal distractions that keep you being from present. Yoga can aid in mending a broken heart through these same practices.

Nothing screams autumn like the sound of crunching leaves and the fun festivities that this season has to offer. Read on to learn about a few of these fall happenings, and feel free to add info about other upcoming harvest or Halloween-themed events in the comments section below.

This Saturday, Oct. 6, the Staff of Life Harvest Festival will ring in the tasty fall season with a slew of seasonally appropriate activities, such as pumpkin decorating, cider pressing, and pie tastings. Bluegrass and a beer tent will also be on the scene. Staff of Life Harvest Festival, Saturday, Oct. 6, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.. Staff of Life, 1266 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-8632, staffoflifemarket.com.

Good Shepherd Catholic School’s Annual Harvest Festival will be held on Saturday, Oct. 13 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This fun-filled family day will include magic shows, carnival games, face painting, a petting zoo, and numerous crafts for kids. There will also be raffles held and prizes given throughout the day, not to mention food and music. The Good Shepherd Catholic School Annual Harvest Festival, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 13 at 2727 Mattinson Lane, Santa Cruz. Admission is free. For more information, visit gsschool.org or email Kaia Roman at [email protected] 

Style with a dash of whimsy at the new Hotel Paradox  

Is Hotel Paradox actually paradoxical, as its name would suggest? It does contain some notable contradictions: for one, it butts up to bustling Downtown Santa Cruz and is situated on busy Ocean Street, but feels peaceful and private from within the fenced-in, tree-lined grounds. It is also a nice hotel in the heart of Santa Cruz, and some may say that that, itself, is a contradiction, although one that’s (hopefully) becoming passé.

But the moniker mostly speaks to the fact that the new 170-room hotel is intriguing. It's slick, hip and classy, with a good dose of quirk. The latter is embodied by the hotel's pervasive forest theme, which is executed with décor aimed at bringing the woods inside. Trees, with their beautiful bark and greenery, spruce up the sleek, modern, mostly white space and drive home a uniquely Santa Cruz vibe. “We have this white, contemporary box, boutique hotel with an organic feel,” explains General Manager Tony Eichers.

Tales from the Democrats' debate viewing party

If you like being in a large room full of Democrats who support President Barack Obama, the newly remodeled Hotel Paradox on Ocean Street was the place to be on Wednesday night. About 400 people gathered for a “debate watch party” sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Democratic Central Committee (DCC) and the local Obama for America campaign organization. Although the crowd was mostly attentive throughout the debate (which was projected on a huge screen with a good sound system), there was a live, on-going audio barometer of approval and disapproval with periodic yells and applause mixed with boos and hisses. At the end of the debate, reactions were mixed.

Comments from the crowd following the debate seemed to be generally reflective of disappointment with Obama’s performance. This reporter overheard comments like “Obama played it a bit too cool, he missed some real opportunities to hit back,” and “Sadly, Romney came across more human than usual … Obama wasn’t at the top of his game.”