🍦🍉⛱️ 😎 The First Week of Summer Is Here
Welcome to the Official Start of Summer!
🎶 If you love live music, you might as well move into Kuumbwa Jazz Center this week. Kick things off this evening, Monday, June 22 (7pm), by celebrating Santa Cruz Guitar Company: The First 50 Years with Keith Greeninger and Vicki Randle. Pamela Rose rolls in Thursday, June 25 (7pm) with Wild Women of the '60s, and Sunday, June 28 (7pm) features Grammy-winning pianist Billy Childs and his quartet.
⚽ World Cup fever has spread well beyond Levi's Stadium. Santa Cruz County is officially in “football” mode, with watch parties at Britannia Arms of Capitola, Brady’s Yacht Club, Bruno’s Bar & Grill, Fonda Felix, The Jury Room, Los Pinos, Mission West, The Parish Publick House, Pono Hawaiian Grill, Pono Kitchen & Tap, Rosie McCann’s, Rush Inn, Salty Otter Sports Grill, Upper Crust Pizza & Pasta….and probably more…there are almost too many to count. Even the MAH is getting in on the action. Pick your spot and join the fun!
Then on Thursday, June 25 (7pm), one of the biggest World Cup events of the tournament hits Santa Cruz Main Beach when the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk hosts a giant LED watch party for the U.S. vs. Türkiye match at 7 p.m. Grab a spot on the sand, enjoy the beachside beer garden in front of the Colonnade, and cheer on Team USA.
📚 Book lovers should mark their calendars for Wednesday, June 24 (7-8pm), when longtime local arts writer Wallace Baine visits Bookshop Santa Cruz to discuss his new novel “Founding Daughter” with local author and co-founder of the Wellstone Center, Steve Kettmann. If you've always enjoyed Wallace's writing – or simply appreciate a good conversation between two gifted storytellers – this should be a fun evening.
🌮 Food Truck Fridays are becoming a thing around Santa Cruz County. On Friday, June 26, Skypark in Scotts Valley hosts its latest edition from 5-8 p.m., featuring live music from Fire Peach, a lineup of local food trucks including Italia Fire, Tacos el Jesse, S.C. Eatery and SnB, plus a beer and wine garden, face painting and other family-friendly fun. Even better, it's all a fundraiser supporting Scotts Valley schools.
☸️ For something completely different, head to Land of Medicine Buddha in Soquel on Saturday, June 27 (10am-3pm) for the free Medicine Buddha Festival. The annual celebration features the display of the center's towering 24-foot Medicine Buddha thangka, a ceremonial procession led by a gamelan orchestra, Tibetan and Mongolian music and dance, qigong, wellness booths, kids activities, adoptable dogs from the Santa Cruz SPCA, a complimentary lunch and a two-mile Peace Hike through the redwoods.
🐱 And if meeting the SPCA pups leaves you wanting a feline friend instead, the Santa Cruz SPCA is also hosting "Caturday" this Saturday, June 27 (11am-5pm), with adoptable cats and kittens available for a special adoption fee of just $50.
🎸 Looking for live music Saturday night? Moe's Alley hosts The Great North Special, a Southern California jam band known for turning Americana, country-blues, psych-rock and funk-soul into an improvisational dance party. Opening the show is Santa Cruz's own J.A.M. & The Buttered Biscuits, built around the original songs of local singer-songwriter Jeffrey A. Meyer and backed by a tight, bluesy funk rock band. Doors open at 8pm with music starting at 9pm.
🎤 Elsewhere around the county this week, Tuesday Night Live returns to the Santa Cruz Wharf Tuesday, June 23 (6-8pm), with free waterfront music from The Unauthorized Rolling Stones. Wednesday, June 24 (6-9pm), the Capitola Twilight Concert Series welcomes Coffee Zombie Collective to Esplanade Park. And Thursday, June 25 (5:30pm) Cake by the Ocean takes the stage at the Crow's Nest Beach BBQ.
🛼 Looking for something a little louder? The Santa Cruz Roller Derby Boardwalk Bombshells face off against the Faultline Derby Devils at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium on Saturday, June 27. Doors open at 6:15pm, and when the first whistle blows at 7pm, you can expect plenty of speed, big hits and mayhem on wheels.
Hey, have you seen it? The Good Times 2026 Visitor’s Guide is out. Take a look at what’s up!
Now let’s get into the news… Have a great week and thanks for reading! 💛
News Highlights:
Advocates Call for Larger School Pesticide Buffer Zones
Nuñez Closes in on Victory
Black Surfers Mark Juneteenth with Paddle Out
Dispute Between RTC, Aptos Village Property Owners Heading to Court
Watsonville School Renaming Moves Forward
PG&E Upgrades Watsonville’s Electrical Grid
Housing Matters to Cut Capacity Due to Budget Shortfalls
PVUSD Trustees Consider $192M Facilities Bond
Plus a Local Novelist’s Shocking Vision, Healthy Ways to Eat, Pleasure Personified in Pinot, Signature Ramen and Sushi…and Much More!
TOP STORIES
Advocates Call for Larger School Pesticide Buffer Zones
Farmworker advocates, parents, educators and environmental activists gathered recently outside Driscoll’s Watsonville headquarters to call for stronger protections against pesticide exposure near schools, arguing that children in the Pajaro Valley face disproportionate health risks from agricultural chemicals.
Tony Nuñez appears poised to avoid a November runoff in the race for Santa Cruz County’s 4th District supervisor seat after the latest election results pushed him just above the threshold needed for an outright victory.
Black Surfers Mark Juneteenth with Paddle Out
Dozens of black surfers marked the Juneteenth holiday with a paddle out at Cowell Beach to celebrate the announcement of slavery’s end, while also paying homage to those viewed as oppressed or marginalized.
Dispute Between RTC, Aptos Village Property Owners Heading to Court
The Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission (RTC) and owners of Aptos Village property are now headed to court over right-of-way issues that could affect construction of a key segment of the trail.
Watsonville School Renaming Moves Forward
A Pajaro Valley Unified School District committee has recommended renaming Cesar E. Chavez Middle School either Central Coast Middle School or Tagami Hashimoto Middle School following allegations of sexual abuse against the late civil rights and farmworker advocate surfaced earlier this year.
PG&E Upgrades Watsonville’s Electrical Grid
PG&E has begun phase one of a $40 million project to upgrade Watsonville’s electrical grid.
Housing Matters to Cut Capacity Due to Budget Shortfalls
Housing Matters, one of Santa Cruz County’s largest providers of homelessness services, announced plans to reduce capacity at two of its key programs as it seeks to address persistent budget deficits and preserve operations for the long term.
PVUSD Trustees Consider $192M Facilities Bond
On June 24, the Pajaro Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees will consider placing a school facilities bond measure on the November ballot that would provide $192 million for repairs and upgrades at the district’s 35 schools.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
A local novelist’s shocking vision of who wrote the country’s founding document.
Elizabeth Borelli’s weekly wellness column features a local health food shop celebrating 40 years in business.
This Pinot is an Absolute Winner
Established by Rich and Leslie Frank in 1993, Frank Family Vineyards is well known as a superb operation. Their 2025 Carneros Rosé of Pinot Noir ($50) is a true gem.
Two major openings – and two on the way – make for good flow.
For his first and only restaurant job, Chris Ishikawa started at Miyuki during high school in 2001 as a busser. He learned the business intimately, working every position until he took ownership in 2016 from the original founders, his aunt and uncle, Janet and Chief Sakaguchi.
WAIT, WHAT?! ⚽🥇🦆
Mexico may have beaten South Africa in its World Cup opener, but the internet crowned a different MVP. Meet Merlin, a 2-year-old duck decked out in a tiny Mexican national team jersey (and matching socks!) who happily waddled through victory celebrations in Mexico City. Photos and videos of the feathered fan quickly racked up millions of views, turning Merlin into the tournament's first unofficial mascot. Every World Cup seems to produce an unlikely hero. This year, apparently it has feathers.