High School Sports Inside Page 2
JANUARY 2013
Restaurant Feature Michael’s on Main Page 5
EVERYTHING CAPITOLA & SOQUEL
Large squid washing up By TARMO HANNULA Of Life Capitola/Soquel
This oil on canvas painting, titled "Blueberry Pie," by Aptos artist David Fleming is one of 13 of his paintings now showing in the main dining room at Michaels on Main restaurant in Soquel through February. Photo by Tarmo Hannula/Life Capitola/Soquel
A shoppers exits the target store at the Capitola Mall where plastic bags are still the norm. Photo by Tarmo Hannula/Life Capitola/Soquel
Plastic bag ban
Capitola moves forward on baning the bag By ROSEANN HERNANDEZ Of Life Capitola/Soquel
CAPITOLA—Capitola has moved forward on a citywide ban of single-use plastic bags, putting the city in line with existing policies in place in unincorporated areas of the county and the city of Watsonville.
Both the city of Capitola and the city of Santa Cruz — which passed its ordinance in July — will have their bans come into effect in April. The City Council unanimously approved the ordinance, which would ban plastic carrier bags at grocery stores and retail establishments. Restaurants will be exempt, after receiving a slew of public support. Save Our Shores Executive Director Laura Kasa, who, along with a group from the environmental action group, gave out more than
Michael’s on Main features local artist
By ERIK CHALHOUB Of Life Capitola/Soquel
SOQUEL — Aptos artist David Fleming currently has his oil on canvas artwork on display at Michael’s on Main in Soquel. Fleming, who has a B.S. in industrial design at San Jose State University, is a former car stylist, working for Ford in Detroit. His most notable success, he said, was designing the rear-end of a 1969 Mustang. After two years, he returned to CaliArtist on Page3
Capitola City Soquel High School Sports Round-Up Council Recap Bag Ban on Page 3
Top-ranked Capitola looks forward to solving its few problems in 2013
By GLENN CRAVENS Of Life Capitola/Soquel
By ROSEANN HERNANDEZ Of Life Capitola/Soquel
CAPITOLA—With a healthy tax base, great weather, a popular police chief and a roster of community events to keep residents engaged all year long — Capitola is sitting pretty. In the results of a recent Benchmark Study comparing Capitola with similar California cities, the beachside community achieved top marks for its financial policies, service delivery and overall Council on Page 2
from a year earlier. Kiff also had a shining moment in the Lions Bowl, as he caught a touchdown pass in the AllStar contest. Six Soquel players were named to the all-SCCAL first team. On offense, quarterback Lucas Sports on Page 2
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Soquel High’s Zoe LeRoy-Antaki tries to pass the ball to a teammate during the Knights’ game against Watsonville last month at Soquel High. LeRoy-Antaki is one of 10 seniors on the team. Photo by Glenn Cravens/Life Capitola/Soquel
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While Soquel High’s winter sports teams are in full gear, some fall sports student-athletes had an opportunity to shine in the spotlight one final time. Fabiano Hale, the do-it-all running back for the Knights’ football team, was named the Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Most Valuable Player for the 2012 season. The award capped off a season in which he finished with 40 rushing touchdowns, most of any in Soquel High history. He also finished with 2,452 rushing yards, which was not only a new school record, but also a new Santa Cruz County single-season record. He won the MVP one year after being named the SCCAL Junior of the Year. His junior season – more than 1,300 yards and 22 touchdowns – paled in comparison to what he eventually did as a senior. In the annual Lions Bowl at Cabrillo College, he had 127 yards and one touchdown as the North Santa Cruz County All-Stars defeated their southern counterparts 24-20. Hale’s touchdown, which came in the second half, put the North Team ahead 21-0. Kevin Kiff, who went both ways on the football field, was named the SCCAL Defensive Player of the Year. Kiff, who played in the secondary at times, helped the Knights improve on defense from a year earlier. The Knights allowed 22.5 points a game in 2012, 7.5 points less per game
Monthly publication dedicated to covering everything in Capitola/Soquel, CA.
CAPITOLA — Hundreds of large Humboldt squid have been washing up on area beaches over the past few weeks, and beachgoers have reported finding the dead reddish squid at Seascape, Rio del Mar, Pleasure Point, Twin Lakes State Beach and on the west side of Santa Cruz. “The million dollar question is, no one knows why they do it,” said Baldo Marinovic, a research biologist with the Institute of Marine Science at UC Santa Cruz. “The second part of that is that they do do it. These animals are outsiders here and are not part of the ecosystem. But they have come here with warm water pulses and during El Niño in the past.” Marinovic said the squid are more common in southern California, Mexico and Central America. The last time the squids were recorded in this area was in 2010 but they abruptly vanished until now, Marinovic said. With the current new pulse of warmer water, they’re starting to show up even as far north as Oregon. “The ones that have been washing up are sub-adults and their behavior is not breeding activity,” Marinovic said. Researchers are suggesting two theories about the sudden appearance: That the squids represent a new group of juveniles who were on the move until they reached conditions they couldn’t handle so they ended up weakened and eventually beached; the second theory is that the squid were somewhat sick, maybe from toxic food such as algae blooms. “However, the few squid that have been looked at did not reveal toxin levels,” Marinovic said. “The bigger issue is that they are back now. These squid are top voracious predators and they’re going after rockfish and anchovies, which could really affect the eco-system “These animals are designed for deeper conditions,” Marinovic said. “Who knows, maybe they just made a wrong turn and messed up.” Humboldt squid are about 3-feet long, with an 18-inch body. In warmer waters to the south mature adults can reach more than six feet and weigh 30 to 40 pounds. “They are fished commercially,” Marinovic said, “but they are tougher than market squid.” The squids travel in large, extensive schools of up to several hundred. They usually congregate in vast depths during the day and come up to feed at the surface at night. They are eaten by dolphins, whales, tunas and billfish. “If you spot them at the beach you can touch them, but be cautious,” Marinovic said. “If they are dead they are harmless, but if they are alive they do have a substantial beak and cause damage. Their suckers also have tiny teeth that can rasp and tear when they grab on. Don’t let them clamp on and suck on you and don’t bring these home and cook them. They are amazing animals.”