Burgers, Bauhaus & Banana Slug Romance 🍔🖤🐌
The Santa Cruz coast as seen from the skies. (Photo Credit: Tarmo Hannula, Pajaronian file)
Hello Santa Cruz! 👋🌊
Hope you’re feeling hungry! 🍔 Santa Cruz Burger Week runs Feb. 25–March 8, which is another way of saying the county will be collectively unbuttoning its jeans for 12 straight days.😄 Dozens of spots are rolling out special burgers, sides and combos for lunch, dinner or for the highly committed, perhaps a double-header.🍟🥤
🎶✨Fri., Feb. 27 bring us round two of Legends: Live & Local. The same series from Event Santa Cruz that gave us that unforgettable Jane Wiedlin night is back, this time summoning post-punk royalty. Cure co-founder Lol Tolhurst and Bauhaus/Love and Rockets’ David J will share the stage (and stories) with locals Trestles and Swan Porter. 🖤Goth kids, your moment has arrived.
If you’re looking for a different kind of nightlife, a fascinating new continent-wide camera-trap study just confirmed what anyone who’s lingered at Elkhorn Slough past sunset already knows: coastal wetlands are the after-dark hotspot for hundreds of species of birds, mammals and reptiles.🦝🦉 Far from an empty swap, the marshlands are more like a fully booked wildlife Airbnb – with a late-night dinner crowd that includes raccoons, bobcats and so much more. 🌿The takeaway: let’s protect it! 🌎💚
Still need more to do? Good Times has you covered. 🗞️
As always, a reminder to send any story suggestions, events, tips, insights or feedback to editor@weeklys.com
And now, on to this week’s news…have a good one!
News Highlights
Panetta Tells Businesses He Will Fight Offshore Drilling
Battery Storage Fight Escalates - Public Meeting this Week
Environmental Advocate Enters Santa Cruz Mayor’s Race
California State Parks Acquire 153-acre Property for Big Basin Expansion
Watsonville Veterans Hall Gets $1.2M for Renovations
Hundreds of Students to Gather for Countywide Youth Civics Summit
Plans Shared for the Future of Highway 17
Affordable Housing Applications Open on Pacific Ave.
Plus Santa Cruz’s World Class DJ, Answers from Integrative Medicine, a New Louisiana-Inspired Lounge, Discovering a Gorgeous Pearl, Mating Slugs… and Much More!
TOP STORIES
Panetta Tells Businesses He Will Fight Offshore Drilling
Congressman Jimmy Panetta recently met with advocates of local industries that rely on a pristine and unobstructed coastline to discuss the negative impacts oil drilling may have. His message: we’re going to continue to fight.
Battery Storage Fight Escalates - Public Meeting this Week
A community meeting is set to highlight concerns about a proposed Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on Minto Road in Watsonville. Organized by Stop Lithium BESS in Santa Cruz and other such groups, the Sat., Feb. 28 meeting is open to the public at Pinto Lake County Park, 757 Green Valley Road at 12:30pm.
Environmental Advocate Enters Santa Cruz Mayor’s Race
Longtime environmental advocate Gillian Greensite confirmed she has met with city staff to start the process of declaring her candidacy for Santa Cruz Mayor.
California State Parks Acquire 153-acre Property for Big Basin expansion
California State Parks has acquired 153 acres to expand Big Basin Redwoods State Park as it continues to recover from the 2020 CZU fires. The acquisition cost about $2.4 million.
Watsonville Veterans Hall Gets $1.2M for Renovations
Democratic Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren (CA-18) recently visited the Watsonville Veterans Hall to deliver a check for $1.2M. The funding will be used for significant renovations to the building, including new plumbing, an HVAC system, and the replacement of the elevator.
Hundreds of Students to Gather for Countywide Youth Civics Summit
This Fri., Feb. 27, high school students from across the County will gather at Cabrillo College for the 2026 Santa Cruz County Youth Civics Summit.
Plans Shared for the Future of Highway 17
Safety, congestion relief and climate resiliency are the top priorities as planning agencies consider the future of Highway 17. Expanding the 17 Express bus route to Highway 85 in Santa Clara County is also on the drawing board.
Affordable Housing Applications Open on Pacific Ave.
An affordable housing complex at the former Santa Cruz Metro bus station in downtown opened its application for qualified tenants.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
San Diego–raised, Santa Cruz–shaped, DJ Neumonic is now lighting up rooms from San Francisco to Coachella’s Do LaB, with a Red Rocks summer ahead.
Why Integrative Medicine Matters
If trying to keep up with changing health guidelines, conflicting headlines, and a flood of wellness advice online is enough to make your head spin, you’re not alone. This is where integrative medicine steps in.
Last Friday saw the long-awaited debut of Alley Oop, in the former Poet and Patriot slot in Cedar Square, right next to Kuumbwa Jazz. (Did you go? Tell us about it!)
Santa Cruz’s Prettiest New Bar
Santa Cruz’s newest bar – The Pearl – ranks as perhaps its prettiest, nestled in the regal lobby of La Bahia Hotel & Spa (215 Beach St., Santa Cruz).
😳 Wait, What?! 🍌🐌💛
All the recent rain translates to prime banana slug season on local redwood trails. Interestingly, it’s also breeding season, meaning California’s official state slug is currently engaged in some of the slowest, longest courtships in the animal kingdom.