Plus Letters to the Editor
Sometimes it’s good to look back in time. During the extended Fourth of July holiday—by the way, thank you tourists (so many of you!) for contributing to our local economy—I recalled when I first got really jazzed about the Fourth. I was a young kid and it was during the Bicentennial. (If you’re under 21, please Google that and send me a report.) It was around the same time the movie version of 1776 came out. So, a year prior to the 200th birthday of America, there was all this hoopla in the air and you couldn’t help but feel the excitement.
That said, I wondered if, say, July 10 feels jipped? Wouldn’t that be a good day to celebrate something? And if so, what? I went looking and came up empty, which in the vast scope of historty left me a bit bewildered. Some things that happened: In 1965, the Beatles’ VI album hit No. 1 and stayed there for a good six weeks.
July 10 was also the day the Rolling Stones landed its first No.1 song, “I Can’t Get No Satisfaction.” Flashforward 20 years, to 1985, and you’ll find Playboy publishing a full frontal nude of Madonna. (Ah, modern times.) The biggest news I found—in my hours and hours of vast research, of course—was that Wyoming became the 44th state back in 1890. So, here’s to you. Wyoming. We’ll be celebrating you this weekend.
Actually, most of us may be recovering from the last. And if that’s the case, dive into this week’s cover story in which writer J.D. Ramey uncovers the truly vibrant creative world of local photographer Kyer Wiltshire. Some of you may be familar with the popular photographer’s work. His images of Burning Man certainly stand out, but his ability to capture nature in its most breathtaking form, as well as glimpsing what he calls the “divine feminine,” is impressive. All this is chronicled in Wiltshire’s book, too, which you can learn about. Find out more.
In the meantime, whatever day you find yourself reading this … celebrate it.
Greg Archer | Editor-in-Chief
Letters to the Editor
You Say Potato …
Regarding your recent health articles, who would have thunk? Meat and potatoes‚—basic staple of the American diet, now held responsible for our growing obesity epidemic.
A federally funded Harvard University analysis of data collected over 20 years from more than 120,000 Americans found that meat and potatoes were the main culprits in weight gain, while fruits, vegetables, and nuts prevented weight gain. The analysis was published in this week’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
So much for the meat industry’s claim of high-nutrient density for their product. It’s more like high weight density.
So, the next time the fast food clerk asks if “you want fries with that,”tell him to hold the greasy hamburger and give you a nice salad instead.
Preston Daniels
Santa Cruz
Trail? What Trail?
In response to the recent bike article, I went for a bike ride today with my trusty Pentax to get some exercise, and hopefully a few photos. Since I was riding past Quail Hollow ranch, I thought I’d swing in for a few minutes, but right on the front gate was a sign that said “No Bicycling.” I know that bicycles aren’t welcome on just about any trails around here, but it seems odd that you aren’t even allowed in the gate if you aren’t on something making more noise and smog, or at least road apples.
Larry Colen
Felton
Best Online Comments
On ‘Mountain Biking Floods Residents’ Patience’ by Daniel Woo
If there were an opening for LEGAL downhill trails, many more riders would volunteer their time and effort to maintaining these trails, and keeping a “good grace” with the community as well. Santa Cruz is an international spotlight in the mountain biking world, yet we only have ONE legal park we can ride and build on. But also, riders need to be more respectful to the owners of the land we ride on. Hell,
why not offer to drink a beer with them and talk it over instead of smash their windshields??
Zach Sylvester
On ‘Gay Santa Cruz: Then and Now’ by John Laird
Nice summary, John! Just one quibble— the Capitola bathroom busts mostly were not gay men, they were “straight” men looking for gay sex. I think that’s an important distinction to be clear on! (And one, I remember hearing, was a young man who was pretty much innocently entrapped.) But it was fun to read a pleasant retrospective of local LGBT history.
Joe E.
On ‘Page Turner’ by Jillian Singh
What an inspiring story of these young ladies’ accomplishments. The magazine is a real delight. Correction: “Megan” O’Hara is actually Maggie O’Hara.
Sue Meadows
On ‘Learning To Adapt’ by Elizabeth Limbach
The wildlife of my Riverside, Santa Cruz neighborhood of the late 70s is long gone. And in the rural Monterey County neighborhood where I’ve lived since, wildlife has been booted from habitat by developments on the Hwy 68/Monterey-Salinas corridor—e.g., when Monterra was built, wild boar migrated to my garden, mountain lion to the trees along my lane. What a concept—to plan for wildlife migration with a new kind of corridor!
Mari Lynch
Unfortunately, “The remarkable and sad thing about the book,” he says, “is that almost nothing has changed—I could write that book today and it wouldn’t be very different.” Holds true for most things in this area. We can only hope that one day, this will be a history book and not a current events book.
Logan
