EDITOR’S NOTE  Brad Kava | Good Times Editor Are you ready for how downtown Santa Cruz is going to look in a few years? Giant towering buildings on both sides of Pacific Avenue. The historic Clocktower dwarfed by a structure that looks like it was transplanted from New York City.  That’s what politicians say the voters wanted when they voted 60-40 percent against the Measure M ballot measure that would have put new tall buildings to a vote. Is that really what you were voting for? Didn’t the politicians tell us that no developer would ever want to put up a building higher than 12 st ..read more

Mark and Nancy Nicholson stand behind a chain link fence outside of their condominium on Wharf Rd, near the entrance to the Capitola Wharf. Large stacks of treated wood have been staged on the other side of the fence, blocking entry to the garage of the unit—the only vehicle access to the dwelling. The construction material belongs to the City of Capitola and was staged by Cushman Contracting Corporation, the contractor working on the Wharf Resiliency and Public Access Improvement Project. The roughly $5M project is in its first phase of a months-long repair to the wharf, which was severely d ..read more

“The mouthfeel is balanced with a luscious fig introduction,” say the owners of Kissed by an Angel, Larry and Lisa Olivo, of their 2019 Cabernet Franc ($60). “It explodes in richness on the back of the tongue of earthy rose splendor.” Enjoy the wine’s sweet floral aromas of violet blackcurrants, cassis and red plum. Hints of anise and some cherry and chocolate notes all lead toward a very interesting cab with a firm structure. I first came across KBAA wines when they had a small tasting room set up in the Scotts Valley-based Heavenly Roadside Café—a haven of celestial breakfasts and lunches ..read more

“Take a Hike With Richard Stockton” appears weekly on the Good Times website. I make the mistake of turning on NPR. As I drive past the Corralitos Market and Sausage Company on Hames Road and turn left on Browns Valley Road, I hear a Texas politician pontificate about his divine knowledge of when life begins. For me, that would be my first cup of coffee. I turn on my windshield wipers and wonder, “Why the hell am I heading for the Byrne-Milliron Forest in this storm? Who would drive through driving rain to climb a mountain?” I’m indeed a curious duck. SIGNS OF CONFUSION Browns Valley or Brown ..read more

When the Town Clock was dedicated in 1976, it represented Santa Cruzans’ hopes for the future and recalled memories of turn-of-the-century Pacific Avenue when trolleys lumbered by and the clock sat atop the Odd Fellows Building. On March 4, the day before the primary election, the local developer Workbench submitted a pre-application plan to the City of Santa Cruz for a massive 18-story, 260 apartment building at the former site of Santa Cruz County Bank and the Rush Inn.  The Clocktower Center would be the tallest building in the county and most likely the tallest building ever submitte ..read more

In Bach you will find everything. —Johannes Brahms Johann Sebastian Bach sits at the top of every musician’s forever playlist. And Bach’s B Minor Mass is widely considered the apex of his work for voice and instruments. A dazzling summary of Bach’s technical genius, the B Minor Mass overflows with stylistic variety, intricate composition and crystalline counterpoint. Finished late in his life, Bach considered it to be a legacy work, an electrifying summary of his countless innovations, his gift to the future of Western music. As Picasso is to visual art, so Bach is to music—everyone who came ..read more

As the end of the first quarter of the 21st century nears, creating and consuming music is easier and cheaper than ever. Despite the resurgence of vinyl records over the past decade or so, streaming is still the number one way people around the world get their music. And why not? In this age of streaming content, people don’t want to wait days or weeks to buy the new hot record when they can hear it the day it’s released. But what very few people know is that the online music market was created right here in Santa Cruz. The Internet Underground Music Archive, or IUMA (pronounced “Eye-You-Ma ..read more

LOSING A FARMERS MARKET? You won’t be able to purchase plants from this longtime location soon. The Live Oak Sunday Farmers Market location ends the last Sunday in April. It’s a place I’ve shopped for years where all economic strata meet: suburban and rural; the elderly, the young with families and babies to purchase from the farm cornucopia of Central Coast California presented. A place where acoustic musical ensembles perform and people meet. Without it, the local area becomes a food as well as diminished cultural and social desert. No proactive plan from the well-paid County District Super ..read more

Almost 20 years ago, and two days before Noe Ortiz was born, his grandparents Maria and Ventura opened El Alteño restaurant in downtown Watsonville. Noe started working there three years ago and says he really loves being a server, meeting a lot of people and having new experiences every night. He defines the atmosphere as colorful and cozy, soft lighting cast against bright colors, completed by a spacious and verdant patio. The menu is authentic Mexican, best begun with appetizers like the chicken and cheese flautas with mango papaya sauce and the spicy aguachile. Entrée favorites include th ..read more

Honk if you’re hungry.  Starting this week (April 26), Food Truck Fridays rolls back to Skypark in Scotts Valley for its monthly roundabout of foodie-friendly trucks, local beer and wine, kids diversions, live music and more every final Friday of the month, through Oct. 25.   This installment’s participating vittles vehicles include Kuki’s Bowl, Epoch Eats, Taquizas Gabriel, Mattia Pizza, Pesce Veggie and Aunt LaLi’s Ice Cream.  That comes complemented by Brenda’s Face Painting; eclectic rock, blues and R&B covers by Identity Problem; and a beer and wine garden that ch ..read more