Santa Cruz

If you don't happen to have time to tour the entire state of California, we found a place that almost seems like a microcosm of the state. You have your beaches, your surfers, your Redwood forests and, just an hour away, one of the state's largest and most cosmopolitan cities. Give up? Try Santa Cruz. Hugging some of California's most scenic coastline, this city offers a sampling of some of the state's most interesting attractions all in one relatively small area. We were amazed, for example, when we topped off a morning of beach sightseeing with a little seven-mile drive up to the sleepy town of Felton.

Most of the world's problems can be solved over a can of peaches and a warm campfire. Just ask Ike, the hero from "Tapping the Source" a great novel on 1970s surf culture by Kem Nunn. Although the book is set on the gritty streets of "old Huntington Beach," one scene in the novel has Turner sneak up to Santa Barbara with surfer-turned-biker Preston to trespass on to The Ranch, an outlaw surf-spot famous for its long waves and reliable point break.

A charge of violating a state law on possession of medical marijuana was dropped Thursday against an advocate who helped get the law passed. The Burbank City Attorney's office dismissed a citation against Valerie Corral for allegedly not having proper identification that allowed her to carry marijuana under the state's Compassionate Use Act. Corral, of Santa Cruz, was cited July 27 when she was found with 5 grams of marijuana at Bob Hope Airport. A conviction on the citation carried a penalty of a $100 fine, the state's lowest misdemeanor, Alvarez said.

A Santa Cruz senator has escalated the battle between the northern California town and Huntington Beach over which is the genuine Surf City. State Sen. Joe Simitian introduced a resolution Aug. 16 asking the California Senate to recognize Santa Cruz as the true Surf City, USA. The move escalated the uneasy rivalry between the two beach towns into a political battle with legislators on both sides of the state gearing up to protect their city's claim.

One year ago, the Glendale City Council unanimously approved a resolution opposing the controversial "Private Property Rights Implementation Act" that had just been passed by the House of Representatives ("Land-use bill raises eyebrows," March 29, 2000). James Rogan, our representative in the House at that time, publicly supported this bill that critics said "would tip the balance of power toward developers by allowing them to bypass local authorities whenever they disagree with a land-use decision."

Alberta Christina Erbe Gail passed away July 27 of natural causes at Sunshine Villa in Santa Cruz. She was 88 years old. She was born on July 23, 1916 in Portland, Oregon to Richard Adam Erbe and Rosa Cecilia Damazar. Her father was a recent immigrant from Thoringia, Germany and her mother was born in Vienna, Austria. Alberta was raised in the Eagle Rock area of Los Angeles in a distinctly German household. She enjoyed telling stories of her father's bathtub beer brewing during the prohibition and the ever present pickle and sour kraut barrels in their basement.

Alex Coolman CITY HALL -- The City Council will consider passing a resolution opposing the Free Trade Area of the Americas at its Tuesday meeting, according to a tentative agenda. The resolution would put Glendale in the company of Santa Cruz and other cities that have opposed the FTAA because they say it could weaken local sovereignty. When the issue of the resolution was raised in May, it appeared that the measure had enough votes to be passed.

ELEANOR RYAN LUNDIN Eleanor Ryan Lundin, 91, a longtime Glendale resident, died Aug. 24, 2002 in Glendale. She was born Dec. 3, 1910 in Twin Falls, Idaho. Prior to retiring she was a bank teller for 20 years with Bank of America. She is survived by her daughters, Patricia Grim of Glendale and Diane Tarazi of Ontario; seven grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. Her husband, Larry Lundin, died in 1986. Graveside services will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday at Forest Lawn, Hollywood Hills.

Chris Campbell of Glendale and Kristin Coleman of Rolling Hills took low medal in the boys? and girls division at the Trusted Choice Big ?I? Junior Classic. Campbell took first overall among the boys with a 76 at DeBell golf course in Burbank. Andrew Larkin of Los Angeles, Kurtis Ward of Rancho Cucamonga and JP Harper of Manhattan Beach tied for second place with 77. All four qualified for the state championship, which was held this week at De Leveaga golf course in Santa Cruz.

A truce has been declared in the "Surf City" war. Democratic state Sen. Joe Simitian has dropped a resolution recognizing Santa Cruz as Surf City after lobbying by Huntington Beach Assemblyman Tom Harman. "I thought Tom [Harman] made a really good case," Simitian said. "I decided to hold off and give the two cities a chance to work this out, maybe find some common ground." The bill was believed to be just days away from a Senate floor vote.

NORTHEAST GLENDALE — Though she had never before played at Oakmont Country Club, Jocelyn Chia was undaunted in her approach. By the time Chia completed her 18-hole round during the local qualifying tournament of the Trusted Choice Big I Junior Classic on Tuesday afternoon, one might have had a difficult time believing she hadn't played at the 89-year-old venue. Chia came through in her first test at the fabled course, as she fired a three-under-par 70 to win the girls' division of the event.

GLENDALE — The following are odds and ends from the local sports scene .   FORMER FALCONS SWIM IN U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS Former All-Area Girls’ Swimmers of the Year Yumi So and Sara Sun , both of whom attended Crescenta Valley High, participated in the 2009 ConocoPhillips USA Swimming National Championships and World Championship Trials in Indianapolis, which began on Tuesday and concludes today....

We write to expose the unexposed. If there is one door in the castle you have been told not to go through, you must. Otherwise, you’ll just be rearranging furniture in rooms you’ve already been in. Most human beings are dedicated to keeping that one door shut.   Anne Lamott, “Bird by Bird” Have you ever felt like you’ve been living someone else’s life? A life designed for you by your parents, friends and teachers?

Chris Campbell of Glendale and Kristin Coleman of Rolling Hills took low medal in the boys? and girls division at the Trusted Choice Big ?I? Junior Classic. Campbell took first overall among the boys with a 76 at DeBell golf course in Burbank. Andrew Larkin of Los Angeles, Kurtis Ward of Rancho Cucamonga and JP Harper of Manhattan Beach tied for second place with 77. All four qualified for the state championship, which was held this week at De Leveaga golf course in Santa Cruz.

Every species has its preferred habitat. And at Clark Magnet High School on Thursday, students were using data about the kinds of homes that sea creatures prefer to build computer-generated maps of where the animals should thrive in the waters near Santa Cruz Island. The students were building the detailed, colorful maps with computer software called ArcGIS, which stands for Geographic Information System. Their teacher, Dominique Evans-Bye, and spatial technologies specialists Adam Barnes and Robin Gregory, who were visiting the school from the University of Arkansas for two days, assisted them.

Another year, another few dozen California getaways, and that means it is time for this travel writer to go back and find the best of the best for this year's Cary Awards. As in past years, we will take a look at some of the more memorable experiences of the year and single out those deserving of special recognition. Not that any of these places really care. It's not like they are running ads in Travel and Leisure magazine campaigning for their Cary Award. But in our humble little way we'd like to give each of these a hearty "job well done" and, at the same time, let our readers know about some especially enjoyable getaways they may have missed reading about.

A charge of violating a state law on possession of medical marijuana was dropped Thursday against an advocate who helped get the law passed. The Burbank City Attorney's office dismissed a citation against Valerie Corral for allegedly not having proper identification that allowed her to carry marijuana under the state's Compassionate Use Act. Corral, of Santa Cruz, was cited July 27 when she was found with 5 grams of marijuana at Bob Hope Airport. A conviction on the citation carried a penalty of a $100 fine, the state's lowest misdemeanor, Alvarez said.

In July the Court of Appeal in the greater San Francisco area reversed a conviction that, in my opinion, was an easy call. This is the story of a bully and his victim, the death of the bully and what is appropriate justice. It is also the story of the Santa Cruz County Prosecutor's Office, which has now had three convictions reversed since April. Each case had one thing in common; the Deputy District Attorney trying the case argued that certain jury instructions should not be given, the judge bought it and the Appellate Court found that the defendant had not gotten a fair trial.

A truce has been declared in the "Surf City" war. Democratic state Sen. Joe Simitian has dropped a resolution recognizing Santa Cruz as Surf City after lobbying by Huntington Beach Assemblyman Tom Harman. "I thought Tom [Harman] made a really good case," Simitian said. "I decided to hold off and give the two cities a chance to work this out, maybe find some common ground." The bill was believed to be just days away from a Senate floor vote.