Monthly Archives: November 2011

Quintessential Santa Cruz spots

Readers, I need your help. One of the perks about moving across the country is that although I miss my friends and family, we’ve had no shortage of visitors since moving here. I’m hoping this trend continues throughout the winter … Continue reading

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More Black Friday madness

Wow. Californians really go nuts on Black Friday, huh? After all of the craziness I heard about last week — pepper-spraying, armed robberies, stabbings and a random body found in the fountain of a shopping plaza — we had this … Continue reading

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Black Friday and Buy Nothing Day

For those of us who will not be participating in the mad-dash shopping frenzy (some might call it a Hobbesian frenzy) known as Black Friday, there’s an alternative proposal out there: Buy Nothing Day The folks of Occupy Santa Cruz … Continue reading

Posted in california, holidays, local flavor, Santa Cruz | 1 Comment

The obligatory Thanksgiving post: In which I’m thankful for living in a beautiful place

As a recent transplant to California, I found this article by Michael Lewis in this month’s Vanity Fair to be incredibly interesting: California and Bust. It focuses largely on Vallejo and San Jose. I find it hard not to get … Continue reading

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That’s a whole lot of pot

I’ve covered a lot of drug busts in my reporting career, but I’m still always impressed by just the sheer amount of drugs that are seized in these busts. Yesterday the sheriff’s office announced a big bust in Watsonville of … Continue reading

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Santa Cruz food: regional specialties?

I’m ever so slowly getting a handle on the local geography and the local lingo. Now it’s time to turn to food. I consider myself something of an amateur foodie. I love going to farmers’ markets, reading about food, thinking … Continue reading

Posted in california, local flavor, Santa Cruz | Tagged | 8 Comments

serial tagger gets arrested again

A 19-year-old man who has already been convicted of — and served time for — spray-painting graffiti on various locations was arrested again this week. Seriously? Is this some sort of addiction I’m unaware of? Graffiti addiction? How does one … Continue reading

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Learning the left coast lingo

It took me a little while, but I finally mastered the “correct” pronunciation of Santa Cruz. I’ve also gotten used to calling the city to our north “SF,” as opposed to San Fran. I still can’t call it “the city.” … Continue reading

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Assault with a cast-iron skillet

Well here’s a new one. A Santa Cruz woman is accused of striking another woman over the head with a cast iron skillet. The incident apparently happened in Capitola Tuesday night and the victim was transported to Dominican Hospital for … Continue reading

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welcome to Santa Cruz: Rockin’ Crow

Within my first few weeks of living in Santa Cruz, I quickly realized that there’s a whole different definition of normal here that I don’t think exists anywhere else. Case in point: One day I was headed to court for … Continue reading

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