Best Doggie Daycare
Bed and Biscuits
Fur couture Their grooming offerings include rhinestone bling that can be affixed to dogs’ ears, and temporary tattoos.
Shop ‘til you flop They have a shop on-site where they sell dog clothing, grooming supplies, raw food diets, and more.
I need a vacation There have been two separate instances of dogs running away from home and coming to Bed and Biscuits.
A little understanding “The one thing that I think makes us really unique to me is we have so many employees that have been with us five to 15 years now. They know the dogs. They know who’s afraid of what. They know who likes what. They know your dog,” says owner Laurie Chadwick.
Yip yip yippee! Small dogs are able to do cage-free boarding and sleep in the living room of a house on site. | Georgia Perry
Best Local Farm
Gizdich Ranch
Farmville The 67-acre farm has been in the Gizdich family since the 1930s.
Berry Varied Gizdich Ranch produces more than 14 varieties of apples and berries on the property.
Good Bug, Bad Bug Ever heard of Integrated Pest Management? Gizdich Ranch uses this natural form of pest control where good bugs are strategically released to eat the bad bugs.
My Tart Will Go On Other than pies, Gizdich sells juice, fresh fruit, frozen fruit, frozen purees, berry ice cream, berry popsicles, puff pastries, dumplings, tarts and deli sandwiches.
We are the Champions An unofficial taste test by Chowhound voted Gizdich Ranch the best olallieberry pie. | Leslie Patrick
Best Spiritual Leader
Rene Schlaepfer
Helping Hands Through “The World’s Biggest Garage Sale,” Twin Lakes Church raised 300,000 meals for Second Harvest Food Bank in 2013. The 2014 installment of this behemoth garage sale takes place May 17. The church has provided 1 million meals to Second Harvest each year for three years.
Close Call Founded in 1890, the church was shuttered completely due to low attendance in the 1920s, and revitalized as Twin Lakes Baptist Church in the ’30s. (Now an independent church, “Baptist” was removed from the name 19 years ago.)
3,300 Average attendance for its four weekend services.
8,000 2013 Easter weekend attendance
15,000+ 2013 Christmas attendance
TLC “What makes TLC special? Our people. Our congregation has a generous personality. And that stems directly from believing that God is generous to us.”—Senior Pastor Rene Schlaepfer, who came on board as senior pastor in 1993.
Sweet Sounds They are a musical bunch: Local American Idol contestants James Durbin and Lisa Leuschner and Grammy-winning singer Joy Williams (of The Civil Wars) all sang in Twin Lakes musical productions in their youth. Current worship pastor Trent Smith has several albums on iTunes. The TLC music team features several players in popular local bands.
Fresh Air Schlaepfer worked as an on-air personality in radio broadcasting for several years before going into the ministry. | Elizabeth Limbach
Best Website
santacruzwaves.com
SantaCruzWaves.com averages 70,000 to 90,000 unique visitors per month. Its most popular post was a “Radiation Report” video from January 2014.
Shutterbugs The site has one or two photographers out shooting the breaks and local wave riders every day.
Hit or miss “Some of the surprising things we [have] learned is what people gravitate to content wise,” says CEO/Founder Tyler Fox. “Some of the things we think are amazing don’t get the views and some of the other articles or photos we’re not super impressed with get a ton of traffic.”
Dropping in When surfing locally, Fox prefers Sewers. His favorite surf spot away from home is Padang Padang in Indonesia.
On the horizon Looking ahead at 2014, Fox says the community can expect a high-quality quarterly print magazine (first issue hits stands in June), live cameras, user-submissions pages, better weather widgets, and other new features.
Surf’s up Fox’s favorite quote about surfing? “The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun.”—Phil Edwards | Elizabeth Limbach
Political Issue
Homelessness
3,536: the estimated number of homeless individuals in the county, according to the 2013 Santa Cruz County Homeless Census and Survey.
12 percent of local homeless are under the age of 18, according to the Homeless Census and Survey. 8.2 out of 10 homeless who responded to the survey were unsheltered.
205: The number of illegal homeless campsites cleared out by Santa Cruz police in 2013, according to Deputy Police Chief Steve Clark. “These are large-scale established campsites,” says Clark. “These numbers do not include the scores of migratory camps that appear overnight such as the caves along West Cliff and under the Wharf, beaches or neighborhood parks.” The most busts in a single location was in the canyon between Tanner Heights and Pasatiempo.
289: The number of illegal camping citations the SCPD issued in 2013.
To garner support for its plans for a legal local homeless camp, Santa Cruz Sanctuary Camp is organizing a Community Campout with the Homeless. Learn more at facebook.com/santacruzsanctuary.com.
On April 1, the Homeless Services Center announced that Monica Martinez was stepping down from her post as executive director after four years at the helm. As of press time, the HSC was conducting a national search for her replacement.
The “Not the Other: Oral Histories of People Experiencing Homelessness” exhibit is on display at the downtown branch of the Santa Cruz Public Library through June 28.
The Homeless Garden Project store is now open every weekend (Friday and Saturday noon to 7 p.m.; Sunday noon to 6 p.m.) on Pacific Avenue between O’Neill’s and Verizon. | Elizabeth Limbach
Category Winners & Runners-Up
Activist Group
Take Back Santa Cruz takebacksantacruz.com
Runners-Up Save Our Shores, LOOLA—Live Oak’s Off-Leash Advocate
Beach
Seabright East Cliff Drive, Seabright Avenue, Santa Cruz, 427-4868
Runners-Up Capitola, Rio Del Mar
Childcare Center
Santa Cruz Toddler Care Center 1738 16th Ave., Santa Cruz, 476-4120, sctcc.org
Runners-Up Children’s Enrichment Center, Circle of Friends
Church
Twin Lakes Church 2701 Cabrillo College Drive, Aptos, 465-3300, tlc.org
Runners-Up Inner Light Ministries, Vintage Faith
Doggie Daycare
Bed and Biscuits 2625 Chanticleer Ave., Santa Cruz, 475-1580, bedandbiscuits.com
Runners-Up Little Pup Lodge, Velvet Coat
Eyelash Extensions
Bella Dawna 7556 Soquel Drive, Aptos, 688-3203, belladawnaesthetics.com
Runners-Up L’Atelier, Serene Skin & Body
Green Certified Business
T Paul Sek Painting 721 Seabright Ave., Santa Cruz, 588-4080, greenpaintingcontractor.com
Runners-Up Greenspace, Ecology Action
Hotel
Dream Inn 175 W Cliff Drive, Santa Cruz, 426-4330, jdvhotels.com/hotels/california/central-coast-hotels/santa-cruz-dream-inn
Runners-Up Chaminade Resort & Spa, Hotel Paradox
Local Farm
Gizdich Ranch 55 Peckham Road, Watsonville, 722-1056, gizdich-ranch.com
Runners-Up Live Earth Farm, Dirty Girl
Local Hero
Jocelyn Dubin 130 Walnut Ave., Santa Cruz, 359-0675, edibleeducator.com
Runners-Up Danny Keith, Analicia Cube
Local Mover & Shaker
Danny Keith For more information visit dannykeith.com
Runners-Up Andy Guy, Rene Schlepper
Locally Owned Business
Bookshop Santa Cruz 1520 Pacific Ave., Santa Cruz, 423-0900, bookshopsantacruz.com
Runners-Up Cruzio, Shopper’s Corner
Music Class
Music Together 3709 Portola Drive, Santa Cruz, 438-3514, musictogether.com
Runners-Up Be Natural Music, Mothersong
New Business
Midtown café 1121 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz
Runners-Up Mas Audio Creations
Nonprofit Organization
Jacob’s Heart 221 Main St., Salinas, 769-9791, jacobsheart.org
Runners-Up Community Bridges, Grind Out Hunger
Political Issue
Homelessness
Runners-Up Water Conservation, Desalinization
Politician
Sam Farr farr.house.gov
Runners-Up Hilary Bryant, Zach Friend
Resort
Chaminade resort & spa 1 Chaminade Lane, Santa Cruz, 475-5600, chaminade.com
Runners-Up Seascape Beach Resort
Summer Camp
Camp Hammer 21401 Big Basin Way, Boulder Creek, 338-3200, camphammer.com
Runners-Up Richard Schmidt Surf Camp, Kennolyn
Student Hangout
The Abbey 350 Mission St., Santa Cruz, abbeylounge.org
Runners-Up Café Pergolessi, Verve
Website for Local 411
Santa Cruz Waves santacruzwaves.com
Runners-Up Good Times, Cruzio
Wedding Venue
Seascape Beach Resort 1 Seascape Resort Drive, Aptos, 688-6800, seascaperesort.com
Runners-Up Chaminade, Cocoanut Grove
Wi-fi Café
The Abbey 350 Mission St., Santa Cruz, abbeylounge.org
Runners-Up Verve, Coffeetopia
