ON STAGE
Private Lives and Public Capers
Christina Waters reviews Santa Cruz Shakespeare’s take on Noël Coward: sparring exes, a glamorous set and plenty of comic trouble.
OCEAN AIR. LOCAL FLAVOR. YOUR NEXT GOOD DAY.
SANTA CRUZ.
FULL COLOR.
Beach days, late nights and everything in between.
Follow your curiosity around the county.
COAST · CULTURE · COMMUNITY
Selected
THE LOCAL READING LIST
Around here.
Food, art, community and a few good reasons to get out. Recent reads from Good Times, the Sentinel and Lookout.
Six local reads 1 of 6
FOOD & DRINK
Mangia Marriage
Dinner and dessert share an address in Scotts Valley as La Placa brings Sicilian cooking and a family bakery together.
GETTING AROUND
Full overnight closures to impact Highway 1 in Aptos in September
Planning an evening drive through Aptos? Read the Sentinel’s coverage of upcoming overnight highway closures.
THIS WEEK’S OUTING
Santa Cruz County Fair just got cheaper – here’s how much you’ll save
The fair runs Sept. 16–20 in Watsonville. Tania Ortiz breaks down lower entry and parking costs, plus special admission deals.
ART IN THE VILLAGE
New Capitola Village public art brings Monterey Bay wildlife to Monterey Avenue railing
A familiar walk gets a colorful new detail. Meet Bruce Harman, the artist behind Capitola’s marine-life railing panels.
SCHOOLS & COMMUNITY
Meilin Obinata’s Pajaro Valley school board campaign focused around planning
The Sentinel profiles a candidate in the Pajaro Valley school board race and her focus on planning.
Keep reading locally
Each story opens at its original publisher. Some publishers require a subscription. Selections are dated above; visit live headlines for feed updates.
NATURAL BRIDGES · THE BOARDWALK · WEST CLIFF · REDWOODS · SURF · SKATE · SANTA CRUZ ·
YOUR NEXT SANTA CRUZ DAY
Pick a direction.
THE COAST, LATELY
Blue looks good on us.
NEW BRIGHTON STATE BEACH
Salt air.
Coastal greens.
A little room to breathe.
Santa Cruz County, photographed .
FOOD & NIGHTLIFE / 2026 ARRIVALS
A NEW REASON
TO GO OUT.
A jazz-alley lounge, an upstairs cocktail spot and a Cedar Street bakery. Put these on your downtown radar.
THE ALLEY-OOP / 320 CEDAR STREET
Small plates.
A whole new mood.
The former Poet & Patriot space has a new chapter. The Alley-Oop brings a speakeasy-style cocktail lounge to the alley next to Kuumbwa Jazz, with drinks and small plates at the center of the evening. Lookout reported its February 2026 debut after a three-year renovation.
Think of it as a place to settle in over a drink and something to share. The business describes itself as a cocktail lounge, and it’s 21+. Check its current menu and hours before you head down the alley.
200 LOCUST STREET
The Hotel
An upstairs cocktail lounge, bar and restaurant in a historic downtown building. Downtown Santa Cruz includes it in its September roundup of this year’s arrivals.
Find it in the dining directory ↗1016 CEDAR STREET
Switch Bakery
Artisan gluten-free baking gets a Cedar Street address. Another entry in Downtown Santa Cruz’s 2026 roundup, and a daytime counterpoint to the new nightlife spots.
Read the new-business roundup ↗Opening coverage checked September 9, 2026. These are recent arrivals, not a ranking or a claim that every venue opened this week. Menus and hours may change.
BEFORE YOU HEAD OUT
COASTAL FORECAST.
Coast and valley conditions can differ. Check the forecast for the place you’re headed.
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Free forecast data from the National Weather Service. Full forecasts and weather alerts ↗
ONE COUNTY. MANY WAYS TO BELONG.
OUR CORNER
OF THE COAST.
Our focus is Santa Cruz County—from the North Coast and mountain communities to Watsonville and the Pajaro Valley.
COMMUNITIES & REGIONS
Aptos · Soquel · Live Oak · Davenport · Freedom · Corralitos · La Selva Beach · Felton · Ben Lomond · Boulder Creek · Pajaro Valley · San Lorenzo Valley
Coastal neighborhoods, mountain towns and valleys that give our region its character.
FOR LOCAL FAMILIES / FALL 2026
SCHOOL DAYS
AHEAD.
Dates to plan around and official calendars from school communities across the county.
SANTA CRUZ CITY SCHOOLS
October 15–16
No classes for secondary students: a professional development day on October 15 and a non-student day on October 16. Elementary families should use their separate calendar.
Elementary & secondary calendars ↗PAJARO VALLEY UNIFIED
October 12
Student and teacher recess. Looking further ahead, elementary parent conferences are scheduled for November 16–20.
2026–27 school calendar ↗SAN LORENZO VALLEY UNIFIED
October 9
A holiday is listed on the district calendar, followed by a non-instructional day on November 2. Check your school’s notices for campus events.
District dates & upcoming events ↗SCOTTS VALLEY UNIFIED
Plan for Wednesdays
For 2026–27, elementary and middle schools have moved early dismissal back to Wednesdays. Check your campus bell schedule when planning pickups and activities.
School calendar & bell schedules ↗Fall calendar roundup · Checked September 9, 2026. This is a selection, not a complete county calendar. Dates and schedules can change; confirm with your school using the official links.
Have a school event to share? Submit it for review ↗THE GOOD STUFF
GET INTO IT.
PLENTY OF ROOM TO WANDER.
6 guides
Santa Cruz’s boldest signature: surf, skate and board art.
From Hawaiian princes in 1885 to NHS in 1973: a short guide to the history behind the boards.
The easiest redwood escape: start at Henry Cowell.
A 40-acre old-growth grove in Felton gives you a compelling reason to leave the beach for an afternoon.
The best lunch plan? Let the farmers’ market decide.
Five Santa Cruz market locations, one coffee and a shopping list with room for something unexpected.
Capitola’s brightest calling card is right on the beach.
The colorful waterfront is the draw. A beach walk and a village browse are enough of a plan.
Your best First Friday starts with two stops.
How to choose a Santa Cruz art route you’ll actually enjoy, from downtown to Watsonville.
The Boardwalk’s biggest thrill has a long memory.
The Giant Dipper opened in 1924. Here’s the history behind a Santa Cruz day out that still earns its place.
OPINION / EDUCATION
Read the opinion ↗Medina backs Mads. His record deserves scrutiny.
The “Barbie” admission, a reported $35,000 demand and a 14-day campus restriction: why we question this endorsement.
LOCAL ROOTS / IDEAS THAT TRAVEL
SMALL CITY.
BIG IDEAS.
The Santa Cruz story includes workshops, engineering teams and companies whose products reach far beyond the county.
FUTURE MOTION
One wheel.
A different idea.
The Santa Cruz company behind Onewheel connects boardsport instincts with electric-vehicle engineering. It’s a local example of building a business around a different way to move.
Meet Future Motion ↗SANTA CRUZ BICYCLES
A hometown name
on the trail.
The company describes designing its bikes in Santa Cruz and investing in trail stewardship. The connection between the product and the places people ride is part of its stated approach.
Read about design & stewardship ↗JOBY AVIATION
The next idea
takes flight.
Founded in Santa Cruz, Joby is developing electric air-taxi technology. Its company timeline offers a look at the engineering and testing behind that ambition.
Explore Joby’s story ↗Independent company profiles, not paid placements or product reviews. Follow the companies for current products, projects and announcements.
THE FUTURE OF SANTA CRUZ / EDITORIAL
WHAT COMES NEXT
SHOULD FEEL LIKE HERE.
New ideas are welcome. The interesting question is whether they make everyday life here better.
A downtown people use.
A new lounge gives someone a reason to stay after a show. A bakery becomes part of a morning routine. Those small changes matter alongside the larger construction projects. A city feels alive when people have somewhere to go and a reason to come back.
The Downtown Library and Affordable Housing Project is another piece of that picture. The city reported structural concrete work underway in February 2026. Follow the city’s updates for the project’s progress; a construction milestone is not an opening date.
Read the city’s project update ↗Room for people to build a life.
We like the ambition of companies that start here and think bigger. But the future of Santa Cruz also belongs to the people teaching classes, opening shops, making art and working the late shift. A better future should make it easier for them to stay and participate.
That is the question we want this section to keep asking: what does a new project give the people who live here? Interesting design gets our attention. Useful public spaces, local opportunity and places where neighbors meet are what make us care.
Tell us what Santa Cruz should build next →MADE HERE / SENT EVERYWHERE
SMALL TOWN.
OUTSIZED IDEAS.
JOBY AVIATION
A different kind of lift.
Joby began in Santa Cruz in 2009. Its electric aircraft program is one of the biggest engineering ambitions to come out of this coast. In May 2025, the company reported flying two aircraft simultaneously—a glimpse of the testing behind the air-taxi idea.
See the flight milestone and company photo ↗
GOODLES
A little noodle.
A lot of Santa Cruz.
GOODLES puts its hometown right into its origin story. Born and headquartered in Santa Cruz, the brand takes a familiar pantry staple and gives it a bright, unapologetic personality. Its stated commitment includes donating at least 1% of products sold to organizations addressing food insecurity.
Meet the Santa Cruz company ↗Explore Cheddy Mac ↗
AN ODE TO JIMBO PHILLIPS / EDITORIAL APPRECIATION
KEEP IT LOUD.
KEEP IT JIMBO.
Some art belongs behind glass. Jimbo Phillips’ graphic world belongs out in the day: on a board, on a shirt, in the middle of somebody’s life. The elastic shapes, unruly faces and packed-in energy feel right at home in a town that has never needed everything to look polite.
That is what we love about his work. It makes a surface feel alive. A graphic can be funny, strange, skillful and a little confrontational all at once. Santa Cruz has room for that kind of imagination—and is better for it.
Jimbo is part of a family of artists, with a voice of his own. His father, Jim Phillips, created the iconic Screaming Hand. Keeping that distinction clear makes the appreciation of both artists more meaningful.
Watch Jimbo’s video biography ↗Explore Jimbo’s work ↗
ART / BOOKS / CREATIVE TECHNOLOGY
THE BEAUTIFULLY
UNEXPECTED.
CHRISTIAN REX VAN MINNEN
Old-master technique.
A very different vision.
The beauty and the grotesque can occupy the same painting. Christian Rex van Minnen’s work pushes at that tension, bringing meticulous painting into disquieting, surreal territory.
The Community Foundation’s Winter 2026 account takes readers into his studio at the Old Wrigley building in Santa Cruz, where he demonstrated classical color mixing. He was a 2024–25 Rydell Visual Arts Fellow. It is a reminder that the Westside’s creative life reaches well beyond the shop window.
Inside the studio and Rydell fellowship ↗ARON ALTMARK / VISUAL ENDEAVORS
Santa Cruz ideas.
Stadium-size canvases.
Aron Altmark founded Visual Endeavors, a Santa Cruz creative technology studio working across live events, installations and interactive media. Think moving images, light and the systems that bring them together.
Recent posts shared by Altmark describe the studio’s real-time visual work for the Backstreet Boys at Sphere and Noah Kahan’s stadium tour. The craft happens where art direction meets technology: turning a live camera feed or a digital environment into part of the show.
Meet Aron ↗Follow his latest projects ↗
Explore Visual Endeavors ↗
THE LOCAL BOOKSHELF / AUBREY GRAVES
Another way to read the coast.
Aubrey Graves has spent years collecting Santa Cruz’s ghost stories and paranormal lore. Her books include Supernatural Santa Cruz, The Santa Cruz Ghost Directory and The Haunted Brookdale Lodge.
For readers drawn to the stories attached to old buildings and familiar streets, it is a different kind of local reading list. These are accounts of folklore and reported experiences, not verification of supernatural events.
Read the local author profile ↗WESTSIDE / WOMEN IN BUSINESS
Cameron Marks.
Twenty years of a point of view.
Vanessa Ambrose opened Cameron Marks in April 2005. More than two decades later, the shop’s story is a useful counterpoint to the idea that only the newest thing deserves attention.
Its founder’s background in design and travel informs the mix of clothing, objects and everyday discoveries. A long-running independent shop gives a neighborhood something a chain cannot simply order: somebody’s particular eye, developed over years.
Read the shop’s story ↗DID YOU KNOW? / A FEW LOCAL NOTES
ONE ARCH.
A WHOLE LOT OF COAST.
Natural Bridges is known for its wave-carved sea arch, tide pools and visiting monarch butterflies.
California State Parks ↗A NOODLE COMPANY
CALLS THIS HOME.
GOODLES says it was born and is headquartered in Santa Cruz. Its colorful boxes travel much farther.
The company’s hometown story ↗$81.04 AN HOUR.
NLIHC’s 2026 housing wage for a modest two-bedroom rental in Santa Cruz–Watsonville: the hourly pay a full-time worker needs while spending no more than 30% of income on housing. This is an affordability measure, not average asking rent.
Read the 2026 figures and method ↗AROUND THE COUNTY
THE LOCAL SIGNAL.
Recent headlines from local publishers. Read the full reporting at the source; some stories require a subscription.
Read the latest at Good Times ↗
Open the publisher for current coverage.
Read the latest at Santa Cruz Sentinel ↗
Open the publisher for current coverage.
Read the latest at Lookout ↗
Open the publisher for current coverage.
Read the latest at Santa Cruz Local ↗
Open the publisher for current coverage.
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FROM AROUND THE COUNTY
GOT A STORY?
A neighborhood idea, a local creative, a place worth knowing—or a correction. Tell us what deserves a closer look.
WHY HERE?
Because a place
is more than a view.
It is what people make, what they care about and how they share it. This site brings together original lifestyle guides, clearly labeled opinion and links to local journalism. We celebrate Santa Cruz’s character while leaving room to ask difficult questions.
Independent editorial site. Not affiliated with the publishers, businesses or school district mentioned. No fabricated interviews or claimed firsthand reporting.