Stagnaro Bros. Seafood has been a local staple since 1937.
The past couple of months at California Local, our attention has been consumed by the June primary election. That’s officially over, now that the results have been certified. Then there was a blistering series of decisions from the Supreme Court of the United States, stilled for the moment now that SCOTUS is in recession. And of course there were the revelations from the Jan. 6 hearings—and there’s still more to come there. But for one moment let’s just hit pause on the daily news.
Instead, let’s look to the past. Not the awful parts of the past, of which there have been many. Rather, let’s celebrate some local cultural institutions that are still actively making Santa Cruz County a better, more entertaining place to live. And we’ll toast a few quintessential spots that time seemingly forgot.
Santa Cruz Survivors
When California Local made its debut in 2021, one of the first organizations to sign up for a free membership was the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival. A longtime fixture on the cultural scene, this arts group dedicated to Renaissance and Baroque music got its start in 1974. Noticing that the group is approaching its 50th anniversary, we got to thinking about other veteran arts organizations in Santa Cruz County. The oldest we know of is the Santa Cruz Art League, which has endured for more than a century. But there are quite a few other local cultural institutions that have passed the four-decade mark. Find out more about how these groups got started, and what they’re up to now.
And the more things change, the more we need some things to stay the same. Writer and longtime Santa Cruzan Kelly Luker cheers for 10 local landmarks that are still standing.
I’m Still Here
A lot has changed in Santa Cruz County. But these things remain the same.
10 Over 40
Too much emphasis is placed on what’s shiny and new. Just as important is what endures. We salute some of Santa Cruz’s oldest cultural institutions.
The Present ... Tense
One can only look back for so long, however. Then it’s time to look ahead. California Local’s Jonathan Vankin looks at three troublesome trends that are in the news: the threat that a conservative-majority SCOTUS will pose to California’s assault weapons ban, the state’s worsening drought, and a new COVID surge.
What the COVID BA.5 Variant Means For California
California is headed for a new COVID surge as BA.5, the most contagious variant of the virus yet discovered, arrives in the state, apparently causing an uptick in hospitalizations and deaths.
On July 29, the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music presents the world premiere of Santa Cruz native Scott Ordway’s multimedia piece on life amid the threats of drought and wildfire.
(07/11/2022) → Read the full Lookout Local report
Capitola Beach Festival returns to Capitola Village on Sept. 24 and 25. This year the Festival has added a scavenger hunt and other games. Float builders are needed for the Saturday evening Lighted Nautical Parade on Soquel Creek.
(07/11/2022) → Read the full Times Publishing Group report
The California Department of Public Health released updated COVID-19 guidance for the coming K-12 school year. Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools Faris Sabbah says that, in many ways, it is a continuation of efforts already in effect.
(07/10/2022) → Read the full Santa Cruz County Sentinel report
Lookout Local’s Wallace Baine chronicles how a group of Santa Cruz musical luminaries came together for a photo session to honor concert promoter “Sleepy John” Sandidge on the occasion of his retirement.
(07/09/2022) → Read the full Lookout Local report
The Santa Cruz County Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience in collaboration with the Santa Cruz Regional 9-1-1 are encouraging residents living in high fire danger areas to consider purchasing a NOAA All Hazards Weather Radio.
(07/07/2022) → Read the full Santa Cruz County Sentinel report
Local homeowner Janet Bourland says the city of Santa Cruz Department of Planning and Community Development may be overstepping its authority in a recent land use agreement. Bourland says she has to sign a document “that gives the city permission to come and inspect my property whenever they wish.”
(07/06/2022) → Read the full Santa Cruz County Sentinel report
At home in San Juan Bautista, where he’s lived for the better part of his life, playwright Luis Valdez is working on his autobiography just after publishing the first book he’s written to describe the philosophy behind El Teatro Campesino.
(07/06/2022) → Read the full Voices of Monterey Bay report
Lookout Local’s Wallace Baine talks to Eric and Ellen Gil, who opened a business in downtown Santa Cruz in 1988. Their company, Socksmith, is now an industry mainstay.
(07/04/2022) → Read the full Lookout Local report
As Willy Elliott-McCrea gets ready to retire and new Second Harvest Food Bank CEO Erica Padilla-Chavez comes on board, the Santa Cruz County organization will throw a 50th anniversary party July 21 at the Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds in Watsonville.
(07/04/2022) → Read the full Edible Monterey Bay report
When results of the June 7 election were certified by the county clerk, a measure to raise Santa Cruz’s city sales tax lost by 50 votes. According to City Manager Matt Huffaker, “the loss of Measure F equates to over $80 million in lost revenue over the next decade.”
(07/04/2022) → Read the full Santa Cruz County Sentinel report
Under a new state law, counties must purge property records of language that once banned people of color from buying homes. While the covenants were made unenforceable in 1948, racial justice advocates say the law confronts the state’s history of discrimination.
(07/04/2022) → Read the full Santa Cruz County Sentinel report
