Every time I perch at Abbott Square downtown, I silently thank Nina Simon for being so instrumental in creating something this town sorely lacked: a central gathering point, a place to share culture, drink coffee or something harder, a hang for people of all ages.

Every great town has one, but Santa Cruz didn’t.

I attended several meetings she chaired asking for local stakeholders to share what they would want to see in the space outside the Museum of Art and History. She used a formula of having people write suggestions down and posting them on the walls to narrow down the choices.

To see the vision come true years later has been one of this city’s greatest accomplishments. When visitors come, I usually take them first to Abbott Square, especially if there’s music playing or events around it, like the lights festivals that turn us into a sort of Burning Man refuge.

Santa Cruz has never been known for moving quickly on much, but Abbott Square and the Warriors arena were important exceptions. They popped up and changed the town for the better (while losing the Nickelodeon theaters was a move to the worse).

There’s music, comedy, art, food, drink and conversation in one perfect patch outside what Simon helped turn into an exciting community museum. They should have named something for her. Maybe they will.

But after that stunning achievement, her second act is almost as big. She’s written a best-selling novel inspired by her mother’s hospitalization for cancer. She wrote much of it lying in bed with her mother, helping her recover. This is the kind of stuff they make movies about, almost too good to be true.

Richard Stockton’s cover story shows how the book came to be and gives Nina’s background story. It’s a must-read.

Other important articles in this issue include Geoffrey Dunn’s tribute to Rowland Rebele, who will be honored Saturday at 1pm on the Cabrillo College campus. HIs loss is staggering to so many people in this county. There’s also a story by Steve Kettman about a local director who has teamed up with Rob Reiner for an important movie about the takeover of the Christian Right.

Much of the country will be talking about this one and we are proud to have a local tie.

Thanks for reading.

Brad Kava | Editor

Photo Contest

TERRAPIN STATION Golden tortuga swims in the sky near Black’s Beach.
Photo: Ali Eppy

Good Idea

New Leaf Community Markets will now accept Electronic Benefits Transfer Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program (EBT SNAP) for same-day delivery and pickup via

Instacart.

 With this program, EBT SNAP participants will be able to use their benefits to access local and organic produce and groceries online for delivery or pickup from five locations throughout Santa Cruz County and Half Moon Bay.

Good Work

There will be 150 new electric bike docking stations in Live Oak, Twin Lakes, Pleasure Point and Capitola.  Each docking station has between 4-6 bike parking spaces for a new fleet of 75 bikes, according to the County Department of Community Development & Infrastructure.

Capitola’s 20 bikes will be added in March, while the others open in February.

BCycle, launched last June, is designed to provide accessible, convenient, and sustainable transportation.

The system has more than 400 electric-assist bikes, found at 86 stations.

Quote of the week

“A fool thinks himself to be wise,
but a wise man knows himself to be a fool.”
—William Shakespeare