It wasn’t the lowest turnout in the history of California balloting. That dubious honor goes to two state legislators from Los Angeles, whose 2009 special elections stand as sagging monuments to voter apathy: each drew 7.9 percent of registered voters. But the turnout for the June 22 primary to fill the 15th Senate District seat—while, at 31.78 percent, is perfectly in line with most special elections—seems low for a contest deemed so important that the president of the United States has weighed in on it.
Articles by Traci Hukill
‘Cabaret’ Celebrates The Bawdy Beautiful
The audience never stood a chance. From the moment the lights came up on dynamo Roddy Kennedy in the impish, libidinous role of the Emcee, the cast of Cabaret was in charge. No provincial musical theater production this, with audience members tensed for blown high notes and lead-footed maneuvers by non-dancers. Cabrillo Stage’s latest offering brims with big-city talent—top-notch singing, powerful dancing and strong acting, all marshaled by director Trevor Little into a dark tale about decadence, innocence and escalating racism in 1930s Berlin.
blackbird Singing at Cabrillo Music Fest
Of the many things violinist Matt Albert is looking forward to when he returns for his eighth year in the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra—seeing his host family, running on West Cliff, tomato season at the farmers market—one of the most thrilling is the chance to play again with festival musical director Marin Alsop.
Cabrillo Stage’s ‘Cabaret’: Shadows And Light
Trevor Little wants you to know this: anyone who thinks the Cabrillo Stage production of Cabaret is going to consist of a talented local hottie in fishnets impersonating Liza Minnelli has another thing coming.
Well, OK. The talented local hottie in fishnets part is right. Briana Michaud, who plays Sally Bowles, is a veteran of six Cabrillo Stage shows, always as a dancer in the ensemble. Now that she’s stepped into the limelight, director Little says she’s blowing even him away—and he’s the one who cast her.
Carmel BachFest’s Populist Streak
David Gordon has the ultimate highfalutin’ job title. So highfalutin’ is his job title that it defies ordinary comprehension: Dramaturge for the Carmel Bach Festival. And yet Gordon has no patience for snobbery in the classical music concerts he helps organize. In fact, after talking to him for a few minutes you get the idea that he would be secretly thrilled if festival audiences cut loose, stomped their feet, maybe held up a lighter. Because Bach, Beethoven and the festival’s 20 other featured composers are, after all, the pop stars of their time.
Santa Cruz Summer Festival Season Revs Up
It’s common wisdom around these parts that the best time of year is September, after the fog and the tourists have left town and the ocean has become marginally less icy, making swimming an actual possibility. But thousands of arts lovers in town know otherwise. For them, the real fun starts in late July.
A Quiet Mehserle Protest
Shortly before noon they gathered at Pacific and Cooper streets in downtown Santa Cruz, a dozen or so protesters, mostly college age. Two hours later they were still there under the white summer sun, holding crude homemade signs bearing slogans about racism and injustice. With slide show.
Capitola Cat Stars in Reality TV Show
Santa Cruz has had more than its share of reality TV stars. The most famous, of course, is Lex van den Berghe, who rocked the third season of Survivor so hard he made season eight’s All-Star cast. There was also the bluegrass-pickin’ Abbott family, who starred in an episode of Trading Spouses in 2004 (and did not appreciate the final product, thank you very much). Add to this proud lineage Taz, brawling orange tabby of Opal Cliffs, and the family of Terry and Lorna Campion. They star in an upcoming episode of Animal Planet’s Housecat Housecalls, described as “Supernanny for cats.”
South County Water District Drops Lawsuit Against Agency
South County was awash in warm fuzzies last week with the announcement that the small but pugnacious Pajaro-Sunny Mesa Community Services District had dropped its two lawsuits against the embattled Pajaro Valley Water Management Agency. In a joint statement, PVWMA general manager Mary Bannister said the two parties had “buried the hatchet,” while Pajaro-Sunny Mesa GM Joe Rosa referred to the need to “join hands” with “our friends at PVWMA.”
John Laird Takes on State Senate Race—and History
It’s 277 miles from the oil field-turned-bedroom-community of Orcutt, in Santa Barbara County at the southern end of State Senate District 15, to tony Saratoga at its northern end. In the next seven weeks, John Laird will get to know them all. On May 3 the former Assemblymember announced his candidacy for the seat vacated by freshly appointed Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado, kicking off a hectic drive toward a June 22 special election in which he’ll face Assemblymember Sam Blakeslee, a powerful San Luis Obispo Republican.
