Santa Cruz Good Times

Wednesday
Jun 19th
Text size
  • Increase font size
  • Default font size
  • Decrease font size

From the Editor

Wednesday, 23 June 2010 09:57 Greg Archer Columns - Editors Note
 E-mail

greg_archerS2sPlus Letters to Good Times...
Cheap Seats?
Settle Down, Please
2012: Business as Usual
Holiday Deadlines
How much do we really know about Santa Cruz County? Chances are, we probably could know more. That’s where The Community Assessment Project (CAP) comes in. CAP is a bold study published every five years. It’s filled with collected research on a number of local topics—from health to homelessness and more. The entire project is designed to gain a better understanding of what’s really unfolding here in Santa Cruz County. The end result illuminates revealing statistics which then can be later used to better access needs and services for the community, and also to create a vision for life here in 2015. But there’s much more to it than that, which you will discover in this week’s cover story, written by News Editor Elizabeth Limbach.  Take note, too, of our survey online. We’d like to hear from you about what issues you feel are important in the county. Head to goodtimessantacruz.com to log in your thoughts.

In the meantime, some good news for our own Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music. The internationally revered fest was honored with a 2009-2010 ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming at the League of American Orchestras’ 65th Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The League and ASCAP present the awards annually to orchestras of all sizes for programs that “challenge the audience, build the repertoire, and increase interest in music of our time.”  Well, Cabrillo certainly does that. Congratulations to Maestra Marin Alsop et al. Take note: The fest celebrates its 48th season in Santa Cruz Aug.1 (cabrillomusic.org).

Stay tuned. More soon ...

Greg Archer | Editor-in-Chief

Letters to Good Times Editor

2012: Business as Usual
Regarding some theories about 2012 mentioned in last week’s cover story, so, on 12/21/12, at 11:11, the sun will “align” with a black hole at the center of the Milky Way, resulting in the Apocalypse. Um, yeah. Let's see, where to begin? First, all numerical designations for time, such as hours, minutes, days, months, and years, are purely arbitrary inventions of human beings. They have no significance in the natural universe. And the Mayan calendar would not have indicated this point in time with these numbers, anyway, much less the Chinese calendar, the Jewish calendar, etc.
Then, there's the galaxy thing. So some black hole in the center of the galaxy is going to “align”(What does that mean, anyway?  There is always an “alignment” between any two points in space) with our teeny little sun way out here on the edge of the spiral, and this will wreak havoc. That must be one honking black hole. In fact, it would be so big, it would swallow all the rest of the galaxy before it got to us. So, why didn't “alignment” with any of the gazillion larger, closer suns in the galaxy set off this destruction? And how is a bomb shelter stocked with supplies going to allow anyone to survive this?
You know what I think is way more likely? Scientific ignorance and gullibility  will reach critical mass on Dec. 12, 2012, and the human race will self destruct. The universe won't notice.
Shari Prange
Bonny Doon


Settle Down, Please
The cover story, “2012,” focused upon dire speculation and dark possibilities of the 2012 Winter solstice event. There were many (breathless) "voices" in the article stating many unreal realities charging the emotional field that obliterate intelligence. Winter Solstice, 2012 is, in fact, an important astrological esoteric event. However, the astrology of the event wasn't researched or included in the article. And the picture of Lady Liberty being swept away underscored the many voices predicting devastation. The article's heavily one-sided slant was disturbing.
Risa
Santa Cruz

Cheap Seats?
It was gratifying to hear from a rational adult concerning the cheapening of the Panetta Lecture Series by inviting Al Gore. Lost 17's letter, Best Of The Online Comments on June 10, proves that not all who hear Gore buy in to this global warming farce like so many sheep.
Although the writer claims a lack of scientific evidence to argue the case, he certainly sees right through this charlatan's game. Just follow the money. And that goes for those junk scientists at East Anglia who violated the first principle of scientific discovery, Truth.
If one would "empower" oneself and "learn about it" as the High Priest of Junk Science suggested, one might start by reading “The Great Global Warming Blunder” by Roy W. Spencer.
Paul D. Browne
Capitola

Holiday Deadlines
Good Times offices will be closed Monday, July 5 in observance of Independence Day. Offices reopen at 9 a.m. Tuesday, July 6. The following deadlines will be in effect for the Thursday, July 8 issue. Display and Classified Display advertising deadlines are 3 pm, Thursday July 1. Classified advertising deadline is 11 am, Monday, July 5. Editorial Calendar and Music Events deadlines are noon, Tuesday, June 29.҅

Comments (0)Add Comment

Write comment
smaller | bigger

busy
< Prev   Next >
 

Share this on your social networks

Bookmark and Share

Share this

Bookmark and Share

 

Silent Dilemma

An inside look at body image and eating disorders. PLUS: Why ‘fat’ is not a feeling. My earliest memory of “feeling fat” was when I was about 12 years old. Up until that time, I was not all that aware of having a body; I was pretty much just in my body, doing the things that kids do. I had not yet learned that I was supposed to look differently than I did. I had not yet downloaded the program that some foods were “good” and others were “bad.” I did not yet have exercise and movement linked up with calorie burning or self-worth.

 

Field to Vase

Open house provides opportunity for residents to meet their local flower growers Valentine’s Day is a high point of the year for those in the cut flower business. So when, one year in the late ’90s, the bouquet-riddled holiday failed to deliver for Kitayama Brothers Farms, the family behind the decades-old rose-growing business knew something was wrong.  “It was the writing on the wall,” recalls Stuart Kitayama, operations manager for the Watsonville-based company. “Those of us who had been hoping things would just get better finally said ‘it’s time to change.’”

 

The Price of Safety

The city's proposed budget addresses public safety needs The City of Santa Cruz’s pocketbook has come a long way since 2009, when an $8 million shortfall loomed. According to City Manager Martin Bernal, the proposed general fund budget for 2013-2014 is healthier than it has been since the beginning of The Great Recession in 2008. Armed with this returning stability, the proposal puts one of the community's top concerns—public safety—front and center.

 

Community Studies 2.0

After a controversial suspension, a new incarnation of the unique UC Santa Cruz major is reinstated The UC Santa Cruz community studies lounge is a great place to have a conversation.  Housed on the second floor of a faculty building in Oakes College, just down the hall from a whiteboard that reads “COMMUNITY STUDIES LIVES,” the room has a big round table, couches and chairs, and shelves stacked with past senior “capstone projects.”

 

North Pacific String Band

Jeff Wilson, who plays banjo for North Pacific String Band, loves being part of original music experiences. “What I like about the music we play is that it’s fairly unique and kind of hard to put your finger on,” Wilson says. “We’re not just trying to do bluegrass or country or folk. It’s a mixture of those things and we try to add in a lot of musicality to all of that.” Originality and musicality aren’t ideas which are limited to the band’s exploits either.

 

Peace in the Middle East

New dance-concert explores Palestinian-Israeli conflict Inspired by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, local choreographer Karl Schaffer’s “Mosaic” is a dance-concert featuring Jewish Diaspora and Arab music from the women’s choral group Zambra, singer Fattah Abbou and a troupe of local dancers. In between rehearsals for the show, which runs June 21-22 at Motion Pacific, Schaffer shared the story behind its creation.

 

Muscle-Bound

Valiant cast battles loud, ugly action for the soul of 'Man of Steel' Early in Man of Steel, fourth-grader Clark, the boy who will be Superman, is cowering in a broom closet at school, eyes screwed shut, hands clapped over his ears. He can't control his super powers: his X-ray vision shows him the skulls and skeletons under everyone's flesh; unfiltered noise—dogs, traffic, heartbeats—assault him from all sides. Rushing to school, his mom kneels outside the door and asks what's wrong.

 

CYNDI

On the eve of Cyndi Lauper’s Mountain Winery gig, we dissect the woman, the icon, the creative beast. Plus: Her thoughts on the music industry, equal rights and those sparkling ‘Kinky Boots’ Few performers possess the kind of fierce, she-bopping tenacity Cyndi Lauper has become famous for. Equal parts free spirit, civil rights activist and Grammy-winner, Lauper is one of the few creative artists able to successfully marry her cutting-edge verve with a heart-of-gold panache. It certainly has helped fuel the remarkable career resurgence she has been experiencing lately.

 

Making the Grade

The quest to identify sources of high levels of bacteria at Cowell Beach continues With straight As on Heal the Bay’s annual “beach report card” for 10 out of 13 Santa Cruz County beaches—Main Beach, Seabright, and even Cowell Beach at the Stairs, to name a few—it would seem that Santa Cruz boasts a high coastal GPA. But in recent years, one Santa Cruz beach just can’t seem to pass: Cowell Beach west of the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf.

 

Summer Solstice, Full Moon, Mercury Retros

Early morning Wednesday Mercury, star of communication and conflict, turns stationary retrograde (23 Cancer). We all know by now what not to do. And what to do—through July 19.
GTemail_tileTomorow's GTW Today.
Sign up for Tomorrow's Good Times Today
Upcoming arts & events

Latest Comments

 

A Sustainable Culture

The popularity of old world yogurt is surging, and it’s easy to make at home Yogurt is a product of the ages. With a name originating in Turkey and probiotic benefits touted by the health food industry. A fondness for Greek-style yogurt has taken the country by storm, resulting in a tripling of the number of yogurt factories in New York State, and a $2 billion a year industry. What sets this Mediterranean yogurt apart is straining. Other cultures refer to the product as “hung” yogurt. Stirred yogurt is placed in a fine mesh strainer which has been lined with cheesecloth and suspended over a deep container. Watery whey seeps out, resulting in a thicker, denser yogurt with more protein by volume. It makes a lovely base for a stiffer tzatziki cucumber-garlic dip and spread.

 

The Power of Conversation

Local author Cecile Andrews emphasizes importance of community engagement in newest book Cecile Andrews, author of the new book “Living Room Revolution: A Handbook for Conversation, Community and the Common Good,” probably wouldn’t get along too well with Larry David’s character from HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm, known for hiding his face and avoiding communication with anyone he runs into on the street. Andrews is a longstanding part-time Santa Cruz (part-time Seattle) resident who says something that’s struck her about this town over the years is people's willingness to participate in a practice she’s dubbed the “Stop and Chat”—which is exactly what it sounds like.

 

Is Edward Snowden a patriot or a traitor?

He's a patriot. Anyone who stands up for the rights that we stand for as a country, that is real democracy. That would be in my book—somebody who is a patriot. Leah WeissSanta Cruz | Therapist

 

Best of Santa Cruz County

The 2013 Santa Cruz County Readers' Poll and Critics’ Picks It’s our biggest issue of the year, and in it, your votes—more than 6,500 of them—determined the winners of The Best of Santa Cruz County Readers’ Poll. New to the long list of local restaurants, shops and other notables that captured your interest: Best Beer Selection, Best Locally Owned Business, Best Customer Service and Best Marijuana Dispensary. In the meantime, many readers were ever so chatty online about potential new categories. Some of the suggestions that stood out: Best Teen Program and Best Web Design/Designer. But what about: Dog Park, Church, Hotel, Local Farm, Therapist (I second that!) or Sports Bar—not to be confused with Bra. Our favorite suggestion: Best Act of Kindness—one reader noted Café Gratitude and the free meals it offered to the Santa Cruz Police Department in the aftermath of recent crimes. Perhaps some of these can be woven into next year’s ballot, so stay tuned. In the meantime, enjoy the following pages and take note of our Critics’ Picks, too, beginning on page 91. A big thanks for voting—and for reading—and an even bigger congratulations to all of the winners. Enjoy.  -Greg Archer, EditorBest of Santa Cruz County Readers’ Poll INDEX | Shops | Food & Drink | Arts & Entertainment | Health & Fitness | Professionals | The Rest |

 

Serene Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon 2006

There’s always an upbeat vibe going at MJA’s tasting room on the Westside. On a recent visit, the very sociable owner Marin Artukovich was busy pouring for a roomful of oenophiles having a good time. With the help of staff members, Artukovich makes sure that nobody waits too long to sample his fine wines, while also keeping track of every person’s flight.

 

Paying it Forward

Pianist Benny Green wants jazz’s past to continue to inform its future I can honestly say I’m still learning.” Hearing such an admirable, humble statement from someone like Benny Green—a jazz pianist, arranger, composer and band leader whose 30-plus year career includes performances and recordings with jazz luminaries like Oscar Peterson, Art Blakey and Betty Carter—might be surprising at first. But Green’s insatiable desire to keep learning has served him well. That desire—and his deep love of jazz—is something he wants today’s younger musicians to feel, too.

 

Good Morning Maui

Goodness, righteousness, virtuousness and fairness are some of the four-score English words that attempt to describe the Hawaiian essence of pono, whose use in the state motto translates to “The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.”

 

Exposed

David Cay Johnston’s new book explains how big companies rob us blind In his late teens David Cay Johnston started to ask questions. “Why do we have these guys in uniforms with guns driving around in cars all day?” “Why is the Santa Cruz County Courthouse being built in such an unusual shape?” He wrote an article, while still living in his hometown of Santa Cruz, proving that the off-kilter courthouse building, which officials had promised would save money, actually cost more than a conventional building.

 

What’s your secret to avoiding the summer swarms?