Former Watsonville high school history teacher Mas Hashimoto explains why the simple things make him happy.
News
Santa Cruz Poet Flew Under The Radar
When someone close to you dies, it’s always strange, even if they were old and in poor health and you knew it was coming. When the deceased is a longtime friend, an exact contemporary and a peer in your shared obscure line of work, someone you spoke with over the phone the day before and who was no drunker than usual and otherwise in good health as far as you knew—when he is suddenly found dead in his San Jose cottage, apparently of a heart attack, at 62, your grief and disbelief are of a different order of magnitude.
Decision Postponed on Coastal Commission Rep
Assembly Speaker Karen Bass has postponed her appointment decision for the Central Coast’s representative to the California Coastal Commission and asked for more nominations. Spokeswoman Shannon Murphy told the Santa Cruz Sentinel that although Bass is not unhappy with the current nominees, “the speaker’s been consumed with budget negotiations.” Bass’s office would not comment on why she had not renewed incumbent Dave Potter’s appointment.
Salon to Hold Cut-a-Thon in Memory of Local Stylist
On Sunday, July 12, Rumours Salon & Spa will host a cut-a-thon to benefit the family of stylist Raul Heredia, who was killed in a hit-and-run accident on June 23. More than 60 stylists volunteering their time will cut and style hair for $35 donations. Five baskets valued between $200 and $700 will be raffled off for $5 a ticket. Proceeds will go toward supporting Raul’s two children, Julia and Gavin.
Santa Cruz Man’s Goatee Judged Greatest On Earth
For as long as he’s been an adult, Paul Beisser has had a beard. Be it a full and bushy face mane, a chiseled Fu-Manchu or a long and proud Van Dyke, the 58-year-old Santa Cruz postal worker’s chin skin has rarely seen the light of day. It wasn’t until May 23, at the World Beard and Moustache Championships in Anchorage, however, that the world finally recognized the whisker whiz for all his worth and awarded him the coveted trophy for World’s Best Natural Goatee.
Desal And Democracy
There will be no election. It won’t be on any ballot. The Powers That Be have already decided. We will have a seawater desalination plant. And you will pay for it.
Santa Cruz County Supes Dig Deep, Pass Budget
Last Thursday, as the County Board of Supervisors picked over the last remaining scraps of unfinished business in its 2009-10 budget, the board was asked to accept a 6 percent reduction in LAFCO’s budget. County Administrative Officer Susan Mauriello read off the amount—$5,913—to a few sad guffaws. “Don’t spend it all in one place,” someone quipped. “Every little penny counts,” scolded Mauriello.
Video Records State Parks Fans’ Sentiments
Last Saturday, over the course of 12 hours, Dusty Nelson visited New Brighton, Wilder Ranch, Twin Lakes, Waddell Creek, Natural Bridges and Henry Cowell state parks. But it wasn’t a day of play; Nelson was on a mission. Camera in hand, working on behalf of the Friends of Satna Cruz State Parks, he interviewed parkgoers at the six state parks for their thoughts on the California State Parks crisis. The responses he got were much the same.
Sound Museum Searches for New Home
In an unremarkable office trailer tucked in a corner of the sprawling California Grey Bears thrift complex on Chanticleer Avenue in Santa Cruz is one man’s ode to the stereo. No more than a modest collection of dusted off old speakers, televisions, radios and record players stacked on flimsy shelves amongst a scattering of musical and political posters, the room is the pride of Grey Bears employee and local activist Franklin Williams. But one person’s “sound museum” is another’s “inappropriate use of space,” and come July 16, these old relics will need to find a new home.
Group Plans Trip to Cuba in Protest of Embargo
The first six months of Barack Obama’s tenure as president has seen the most drastic changes to U.S. policy toward Cuba in more than 50 years. But for a group of local and international volunteers, the president’s move to relax restrictions on family travel to the communist country is “commendable, but it is not enough.”
