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Posted inCity Life
Pranksters, LSD and the Dead: Ken Babbs was there at Santa Cruz County’s most famous (or infamous) party
Ken Kesey, Neal Cassady and the crew immortalized in “The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test,” not to mention the band that became the Grateful Dead, got the party started at Ken Babbs’ Soquel digs. And it’s all in Babbs’ new book, which he’ll discuss in an upcoming Bookshop Santa Cruz event.
Posted inUncategorized
Santa Cruz council moves 130 Center St. project forward
A 233-unit mixed-use downtown development unanimously approved by Santa Cruz’s planning commission faced an appeal in November, but while those community concerns led to further delay, UCSC students and advocates rallied together to push the project forward, leading to unanimous approval by the city council.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
How Santa Cruz County’s public schools have avoided the higher absence rates, sickouts seen elsewhere
While Santa Cruz County public schools have taken on the burden of teaching students in person during a pandemic, they’ve managed to avoid challenges such as sickouts and abnormally high absence rates seen in other parts of the country.
Posted inCOVID 2022
Vaccine update: Rates, where to find a COVID shot or test; wait, cost and turnaround times
While Santa Cruz County public schools have taken on the burden of teaching students in person during a pandemic,…
Posted inEnvironment
Official count confirms monarch butterflies are back, in a big way
The nonprofit organization that monitors monarchs during their wintering months in the West announced Tuesday that butterfly populations have jumped from 2020-21 numbers by more than a hundredfold, from an all-time low of less than 2,000 to almost a quarter-million.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
Strike averted: County, union reach last-minute agreement, narrowly avoiding walkout
Hours before some 1,600 Santa Cruz County workers were set to strike, union and county officials came to a tentative agreement that avoided the picket line. The full membership of SEIU 521 still needs to ratify the agreement, and a vote is scheduled for later this week.
Posted inBusiness & Technology
‘A lot of increased interest, a lot of desire’: New business permit extensions aim to revitalize downtown
The city of Santa Cruz has seen a hit to downtown businesses throughout the COVID pandemic, but on Tuesday, the city council authorized a new rule making it easier for businesses to reopen or move into a vacant spot.
Posted inFood & Drink
‘That was a great 20 years’: Soif Restaurant to close its doors Saturday; new plans for space in the works
While Patrice Boyle takes a bow, continues to manage La Posta and tries to spend some more time at home, a mystery longtime local restaurateur, who is said to be well known, will take over the downtown Santa Cruz restaurant as the retail wine business continues on its own.
Posted inCoast Life
Wallace Baine: Drop the remote — the cure for our latest viral malaise awaits us right outside the door
Whether it’s the quality of the air on a hike in the redwoods, the high clouds and low angles giving the season’s light a unique character or a different tone in the ocean’s roar, getting out into our life-affirming Monterey Bay winter is a balm we’re lucky to have.
