Most Popular Place Not to Find a Table on Trivia Night 11th Hour Coffee Despite the name, do not plan on showing up to this trivia night at the eleventh hour if you want to find a table for your group. This has quickly become the hottest trivia spot in Santa Cruz, with staff urging trivia-goers to arrive at least an hour early to snag a seat. The crowd is a mix of students—millennials looking to make new friends and the ever-growing tech population looking properly Santa Cruz-clad in Patagonia and Blundstone Boots. Topics range, but having a penchant for history and geography could come in cl ..read more

Best Adult Store CAMOUFLAGE Silver Medal FRENCHY’S LOVE BOUTIQUE Bronze Medal GOOD VIBRATIONS Best Alternative Health Services SANTA CRUZ INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE Silver Medal SANTA CRUZ NATUROPATHIC MEDICAL CENTER Bronze Medal POINTS FOR WELLNESS Best Antiques CENTER STREET ANTIQUES Silver Medal ATTILIA’S ANTIQUES Bronze Medal SHEN’S GALLERY Best Arts and Crafts LENZ ARTS Silver Medal PALACE ARTS & OFFICE SUPPLY Bronze Medal BEVERLY’S Best Auto Dealer SANTA CRUZ TOYOTA Silver Medal SANTA CRUZ SUBARU Bronze Medal OCEAN HONDA Best Auto Dealer – Watsonville CHEVROLET OF WATSONVILLE Silver Medal ..read more

It’s dawn and I’m the first to park in the Henry Cowell State Park parking lot up Felton-Empire Grade Road. I had to use my phone alarm to wake up. I hope hiking will get my circadian rhythm in alignment with the sun and moon, but for now my circadian rhythm is in alignment with Netflix and my bladder. My left knee cramps and my phone says its 40 degrees. I thought hell would be warmer. From damaged to managed If you are a beginning or casual hiker, this column may be for you. If I can walk these trails, you can too. I hike every week, but I am not good at it. I have knee issues, I have endur ..read more

RESPONSE TO DON’T BLAME THE DEMS LETTER I’m a longtime SC resident of 25 yrs. A main reason I worked so hard to get here was because SC was so “liberal“ and free thinking, out of the box and so very unique, like I was. I am mostly not political, but consider myself proud to have been what used to be traditional basic liberal values– NO war, freedom of speech, press, sovereign individuality, freedom of religion, the individual above corporations…a few biggies like that. It’s been a long slow process, but I have watched what once were “Liberal” values, morph over to being conservative. Believe ..read more

Brad Kava | Good Times Editor What do Earth Day and 4/20 have in common? Well, they both celebrate plants, for one thing. We juggled both this issue with Richard Stockton’s cover story about the surprising history of growing cannabis in Santa Cruz, starting back in the dark ages (not that long ago, really) when it was illegal. Richard writes about our own “Johnny Appleweed,” who spread seeds of a high potency strain of weed that you can still find today. So how do you water your weed? Gardening expert Jillian Steinberger lets us know about greywater and how to use it safely. The ebb and flow ..read more

Master gardener Delmar McComb’s first job out of college changed the course of his life forever. While working with a former apprentice of the legendary horticulturist Alan Chadwick, he learned the dirty secrets of conventional gardening. Traditional agriculture relies heavily on a non-renewable and finite energy source for crop cultivation, leading to soil depletion and nutrient loss in food over time. Searching for answers McCombs turned to a book, Thomkins and Bird’s Secrets of the Soil that completely shifted his thinking. He learned about a method developed one hundred years ago in Germa ..read more

Glitz and Glam are swapped with empty bottles and food wrappers in this upcoming Santa Cruz fashion show at The Rio on Friday.   Santa Cruz teens will take the runway dressed in recycled chic, embracing their creative expression through the FashionTeens program. In this program, students design and construct a garment over several weeks and present it in a fashion show open to the general public.  A Loofah gown, crushed iPhone corset, and soda can vest are some of the outlandish pieces that will take the stage. Every piece showcased will be made from upcycled materials, with th ..read more

Gliding across the California redwood, a 10-inch slimy and bright yellow slug has weaved its way into the 2024 California legislative session with Assembly Bill 1850, which would make the banana slug the official state slug.  A banana slug is a member of the Ariolimacidae family and can be found up and down the California coast from San Diego to Del Norte and, of course, Santa Cruz. They are most prominently found within California and are very beneficial to the state’s plant life.    The goal of recognizing the banana slug as the official state slug is to help preserve the species. By n ..read more

Activist, poet and music manager John Sinclair died last week at 82. He was someone about whom everybody concerned about cannabis reform, of any age, should know. There’s no doubting Sinclair’s place in the history of American counterculture and the fight for legalizing weed, but for all the lore surrounding him, the best story in which he was involved (if only tangentially) is also perhaps the greatest story in rock-and-roll history. Between songs during the Who’s set at Woodstock, Abbie Hoffman leaped on the stage and started ranting into a microphone about Sinclair having recently been con ..read more

Two weeks before the first Covid shutdown, Jon Bates and his business partners Jason and Keike bought the iconic Seabright Brewery and rebranded it as Seabright Social. Buying a restaurant/bar just before a pandemic was hardly ideal timing, but the popular neighborhood spot has persevered. Bates had been working in wine sales, but said he got sick of “living behind a windshield.” Becoming a restaurant owner was the fulfillment of a longtime dream of his, especially in the Santa Cruz community that he loves. It’s a community gathering place with a modern gastropub feel, family and dog-friendly ..read more