Student Lookout: Local empanadas, outdoor summer spots and a profile of a legendary basketball coach

Good day, friends,

It’s been great to have a stretch of classic Santa Cruz sun, hasn’t it? I feel like we deserve it after a particularly rough winter. It might have been too stormy to take advantage of the soothing, misty nature scenery in the winter, but at least we have months of perfect outdoor weather right around the corner. Kaya will get into that a little more later.

Let me know what your favorite local nature spot is. I’m a big fan of Henry Cowell, but Big Basin might just be my favorite. Also, if you have the chance to go down to Elkhorn Slough in Monterey County, I highly recommend that you do. You can hike, walk and even kayak if you’re so inclined. It’s teeming with all sorts of native wildlife, which makes for a unique trip every time you visit.

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Deals Download

• Students (and teachers) get 10% off at Well Within on Thursdays.
• HoM Korean Kitchen offers 15% off for students.
• Seymour Marine Discovery Center offers free admission to UC Santa Cruz students and 25% off for all student tickets.

BEST DEAL OF THE MONTH: Student tickets at Kuumbwa Jazz

Located in downtown Santa Cruz, Kuumbwa Jazz is a nonprofit providing Santa Cruz the full spectrum of jazz music through live performance and education. Check out an upcoming show and take advantage of discounted student tickets.

➤ Want to share these deals with your friends? Have them sign up for Student Lookout texts with this link.

Good Eats

Fonda Felix Cocina & Empanadas ($$ - $$$)

In what has to be one of the top options for large gatherings, a box of empanadas from Fonda Felix might be on the pricier side, but will never disappoint. From beef and chicken to butternut squash and black bean mole, there is certainly something for everyone. Have a few people chip in, and try out all the flavors.

Recently, Jessica M. Pasko — one of the local food writers filling in for Lily Belli while she’s on maternity leave — talked to California Certified Organic Farmers’ CEO Kelly Damewood as the organization celebrates its 50th anniversary. She discusses what’s next for the organization, including ways to remove some of the barriers around becoming certified organic.

Take this weeks news quiz

Inside Santa Cruz: Three outdoor spots for Santa Cruz summer

I don’t know about you, but now that the storms have passed and the sun is breaking through the clouds I am getting antsy for summer. This is my last summer in Santa Cruz before I move for university, and I’m going to miss its natural beauty. I am not much of an outdoorsy person, but lately I have had this appetite for outdoor adventures. So for Inside Santa Cruz, here are three outdoor spots to check out to get you in the mood for summer.

Scott Creek County Beach
Location: Davenport

On the scenic drive along Highway 1, Scott Creek Beach can easily go unnoticed as you make your way up the coast. No amenities are available, except the parking lot right on the beach. When you make your way down the beach, you will be met with the beautiful site of the coastline sandwiched between rigid cliffs. If your eyes aren’t stuck on the gorgeous sight of the beach, turn your attention to the slough just across the road. Hills blanketed in green grass and the slough juxtaposed with the highway bring a completely different feeling of serenity. If you want to get a little bit closer to the slough, there is a bridge that you can walk under that gives you a front-row seat to the beauty. You don’t have to pay to park, so all you need to do is enjoy yourself.

Porter Meadow
Location: Santa Cruz

This might seem a little silly and obvious, but Porter Meadow, in my opinion, is one of the best spots to relax and stargaze. If it isn’t foggy, you’re able to see a sky full of stars and are bound to see a shooting star at least once. There is also the iconic Porter Squiggle sculpture, which makes for the perfect stargazing or hangout spot (if it isn’t already taken). If you make your way into the surrounding forest, you can find yourself in an open space completely surrounded by trees and the occasional hiker. There is a parking lot just in front of the meadow where you can park for $2.50 an hour, $10 a day or a $5 flat evening rate.

Pogonip

Location: Enter off East Drive or Coolidge Drive on the UCSC campus; other entrances off Spring Street, Golf Club Drive, Harvey West Boulevard and Highway 9
Hours: April through October, sunrise to 7 p.m.; November through March, sunrise to 4 p.m.

Tucked away between the UC Santa Cruz campus, Harvey West Park and Highway 9 lies Pogonip, a 11.5-mile multiuse trail system that has a total of seven different trails. Depending which entrance you use, there’s usually some street parking nearby. The trails you choose to go on depend on if you’re hiking, biking or walking your dog. Check the City of Santa Cruz website for trail regulations. These trails are considered moderate, and can leave you breathless at some points. A personal favorite of mine is the Lookout Trail, where you begin at the base of the trail and end up in an open space looking over the Harvey West area of Santa Cruz. It’s the perfect spot to have a picnic or relax after a long hike!

Around Town - Events

Here is an event you should check out:

Del Mar Midnight Movie: “Fright Night,” Friday and Saturday, 11:55 p.m.

Catch a late-night ‘80s horror-comedy this weekend with “Fright Night” at the Del Mar. The movie is pretty ridiculous, with top-tier practical effects and camp written all over it. Horror-comedies can be very hit-or-miss, but when it’s straight from the mid-'80s, it’s too endearing to pass up.

Gimme Gimme Disco, Saturday, 9 p.m.

Hit the Catalyst once again for the disco night that has become quite popular since it has made its way to Santa Cruz. I genuinely just realized this is a nationwide party, with dates all over the country. Turns out you can find disco nights in nearly any city you find yourself in.

Earth Week events, Monday through next Saturday

Next week is Earth Week, and being the coastal sanctuary that Santa Cruz County is, there are plenty of ways you can participate in the annual celebration. Take your pick between a bike scavenger hunt, a clothing swap and a movie night. See the whole lineup in the picture below.

(Via UC Santa Cruz)

➤ Want more? If you’re still looking for great things to do, check out Wallace Baine’s Weekender here.

How I got my job

UCSC creative writing lecturer Steve Coulter with his Celtic harp.

(Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz)

This week, newsroom intern Kaya Henkes-Power sat down with UC Santa Cruz creative writing lecturer Steve Coulter, who shared his unique path to academia, which includes a stint busking with a Celtic harp in Europe. After bouncing around Europe and continuing his music career in Hawaii, he came back to Santa Cruz for a teaching certificate, leading him to where he is today.

They spoke about the future of writing with the advent of artificial intelligence, developing connections with his students and the challenges within the student mental health crisis.

This week, I read: “The Tao of Spo” by Jason Quick (The Athletic)

Baseball might be my lifelong favorite sport, but basketball is the uncontested second. Further, profiles are some of my favorite things to read, and this great one about the Miami Heat basketball team’s head coach, Erik Spoelstra, is reminiscent of the classic print Sports Illustrated profiles and cover stories.

Widely regarded as one of the best coaches in the game, the story touches on players’ and other coaches’ histories with the intense Spoelstra. Players in the story did not shy away from saying that they occasionally butt heads, but in the end, it’s because Spoelstra welcomes confrontation and disagreement. As former Heat assistant coach David Fizdale said: “Spo understands that to get to the other side, you have to go through the fire.”

Stories about people so passionate about their work that they nearly crack always speak to me. So many of them move through life with a sense of brashness that often fosters strong opinions on them — for better or for worse. Through tough conversations, transparency and uncompromising self-assurance, Spoelstra has won over his players time and time again — even when they couldn’t stand him in the moment. That’s a difficult feat for anyone. Quick sums it up beautifully near the end:

“To be coached by Spoelstra is to feel. It might be anger, it might be elation and it might be frustration. But they feel. And as the playoffs near, and the standings say the Heat are not contenders, the players in Spoelstra’s locker room feel differently.”

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That’s just about it from me this week. Y’all keep enjoying the sun out there, and I’ll talk to you soon!

— Max