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Covello & Covello Historical Photo Collection Eastside Santa Cruz Halloween Parade, circa 1952-54: These so-far-unidentified blessed little angels probably dressed like Wrigley's gum because Mom or Dad worked at the factory that produced what was Santa Cruz's most famous product. The traditional and 52nd annual Eastside parade starts this Saturday (Oct. 28) at Branciforte Elementary at 9:30am and marches to Gault Elementary. The carnival is at Gault from 10am to 1:30pm. They have games and raffles, and food and beverages and gift certificates and prizes such as weekend cabin getaways and charter cruises, and it's lots of fun. Bruce Bratton THE NEXT CITY COUNCIL. We're less than two weeks away from electing four people to the Santa Cruz City Council. Just for a minute, forget all the issues and measures you've been hearing about and where the candidates stand. None of that is as important as electing a council that can work together. We have had a battling, bickering, nasty council for years, and it has slowed our city down considerably. It really started with Mike Rotkin, Scott Kennedy, Cynthia Mathews and Michael Hernandez taking sides against Katherine Beiers and Celia Scott. It continues with Rotkin, Mathews and Hernandez taking sides against Keith Sugar, Tim Fitzmaurice and Christopher Krohn. If Kennedy, Hernandez and Mark Primack should get elected, then I believe that the divisiveness and bickering will grow even faster. Then in two years, Rotkin and Mathews will certainly run again, and the city will still sit around and hope for some semblance of common sense. That's why I've been so strong on encouraging votes for Ed Porter, Scott Bugental, Emily Reilly and Dick Doubrava. These four folks have much-needed experience, and they know how to get stuff done by working together cooperatively. The immediate big sure thing, in my opinion, is that they can and will work easily with the present council. We'll all benefit from their combined dedication. We need to think of the past political divisions that caused so much in-fighting and end it by voting for people we know put the city's future ahead of their own. DARK PLEASURES. Winona Ryder's Lost Souls (or Exorcist 26), does actually have a few moments of fine moviemaking in it--but not enough to make it worth your while. Brendan Fraser's Bedazzled is no match for the original 1967 British film with Dudley Moore and Raquel Welch (which wasn't so great either). Don't go; wait until Christmas and rent it when the relatives are here and there's nothing else to do. Girlfight is one of those boy-punches-girl, girl-punches-boy, girl-punches-boy harder and wins the match films. It could easily be called Rocque 2 except that it's far better than any Rocky film ever was. It was written, directed and produced by women, won awards in Cannes and got the grand jury prize at Sundance. It's a fresh cinematic approach, but if you don't approve of women and men boxing each other professionally, maybe you better not go. Wonderland is one excellent film. It's a group of stories like American Beauty or Magnolia, and you'll like it very much. OTHER PEOPLE TO VOTE FOR. Whatever you do, vote for Bruce Daniels and Katherine Sweet for Soquel Water Board. They are the only hope that neck of the woods has against the faction that's been in control for the last 30 years. Daniels and Sweet know about growth and how to solve the water problems. You should also vote for John Laird and John Leopold for Cabrilho College Board of Trustees. Leopold has years of experience in community concerns and knows the importance of finances. Laird has more than 25 years of experience as a congressional assistant, mayor of Santa Cruz and Cabrilho Trustee (for six years). Cabrilho is facing big challenges, and we need those two on the board. Vote for Felix Robles and Barney Bricmont for Santa Cruz City School Board. Felix has been president of the City School Board and has spent decades working in education locally. Barney has served years on school boards, helped develop Life Lab, was president of California Certified Organic Farmers, and besides that, he and I used to be clerks at Orchard Supply Hardware, so you know he works hard. DISTRICT ELECTIONS AND TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX. As previously mentioned, the developers, out-of-town money interests, and real estate types are watching how we vote on these city measures. They've all invested heavily in promoting district elections and defeating any increase in the "T.O.T." Both campaigns can definitely use any support you can give in the way of donations and volunteering your time to help level the playing field against those power players. Call the Committee for Measure U (the Transient Tax Measure; (Karen Gillette is treasurer), and the Santa Cruz Committee Against Measure T, the District Elections measure (Ed Newman is chairman) at 429.1688. BOOK NEWS. The annual huge Santa Cruz Public Library Bountiful Books and Baskets book sale happens this Friday and Saturday at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. You can sneak in early by joining the Friends of the Libraries at the door on Friday at 5:30pm. They sell tons of books at $1 per pound. Bookshop Santa Cruz made it into USA Today's best bookshops in the country. Check it out at www.usatoday.com/usatonline/ 20001020/2768321s.htm and see how many other great independent book stores you've been to. Jerry Busch, who wrote that great book Watching the Watsonville Wetlands, will be talking about the book and the wetlands and showing slides Wednesday night Nov. 1 at 7:30pm in the Capitola Book Café. MORE POLITICS. Everybody I know or have ever met thinks destroying campaign signs is really wrong. It happens every campaign but seems to be worse this year, and both sides of issues and all candidates are being victimized. My guess about the perpetrators is that it's not campaigners but just overzealous nuts who have no idea of how much they're hurting the very people they do support. CULTURAL EVENTS. New Music Works is presenting Rosewood, a Spatial Assembly for Guitar Orchestra on Nov. 19. The orchestra consists of 100 guitars and an organ. They need all kinds of guitar players ages 8 to whatever, including minimal experience as well. The one rehearsal will be at 1pm at the Vets Memorial Hall in Santa Cruz; then that night everybody plays this piece by Henry Brant that features guitar great David Tannenbaum. Call Phil Collins at 427.2225, Kenny Hill at 336,2436 or Guy Cantwell at 462.0438 and become a part of this rare performance. ... Jazz pianist Michael Wolff plays the Kuumbwa Nov. 6. Michael has Tourette's Syndrome. On Nov. 4-5, the Nickelodeon will be screening The Tic Code, a film about Tourette's Syndrome and how the disease contributes to Michael's brilliance as a pianist and composer. ... John Thomson, formerly the fastest painter in the world, sometime bongo player and once local poseur, is leaving again for his winter studio in Yelapa. He raises money for his trip there by selling yet to be painted paintings that he'll do there for $300. You can buy one in advance by calling 475.8806. He leaves next week, or so he says. Bruce critiques films every other Thursday on KUSP-FM(88.9) at 12:50pm. Reach Bruce at [email protected] or call 457.5814, ext. 400. [ Santa Cruz | MetroActive Central | Archives ]