Cannabis Cultivation Proposed • Palace Art & Office Supply in Capitola Has a New Owner

COMMUNITY NEWS Cannabis Cultivation Proposed

Aproposal from Green Coast LLC and Old Mount LLC for an outdoor cannabis cultivation facility at 125 Old Mount Road, Felton, will be heard by the Santa Cruz County zoning administrator at 9 a.m. Friday Dec. 3.

The location is in the mountains, three miles north of Zayante, in a “high” state fire responsibility area. The 31.5-acre property is owned by Masood Madani. The applicant is David Whitfield of San Francisco.

Temporary hoop houses of 20,000 square feet of flowering canopy with another 8,000 square feet for immature plants. The operation expects to hire two full-time employees and 10 seasonal employees for harvest.

County planner Michael Sapunor recommended approval of the commercial development permit.

This is an online hearing via Microsoft Teams. Learn more at https://tinyurl. com/felton-cannabis-proposal. n

Palace Art & Office Supply in Capitola Has a New Owner

After 72 years, Palace Art & Office Supply has a new owner — putting a halt to previously announced plans to close the store at 1501 41st Ave., Capitola.

Besides art and office supplies, the store sells gifts, cards, frames, photo albums, journals, games and lots of things for children.

The new owner, Charles Maier, owns The Crow’s Nest restaurant, and more recently took ownership of Santa Cruz Diner (2018), Paradise Beach Grill in Capitola (2020), and Gilda’s on the Wharf in Santa Cruz (2020).

The Trowbridge family posted an announcement on Facebook: “We’re honored to hand the keys over to a new Santa Cruz family who will carry on the Palace tradition of making every day a canvas for creators of all ages.

“The Trowbridge family will continue its legacy through the success of Palace Business Solutions. We hope you’ll keep in touch with us there.

“Thank you to everyone who has supported Palace Art & Office Supply over the decades; it’s your passion and loyalty that have helped to make this new era possible.” Here is the formal announcement:

Effective Nov. 16, 2021, Palace Art & Office Supply will open its doors with a new family at the helm. Local family Charles Maier along with his wife, Al-lee Gottlieb and their four children, will carry on the Trowbridge family legacy as the new owners of the beloved retail store.

“We’re excited to carry on this legacy and help preserve what the community has always loved about Palace,” says Charles Maier. “Everyone can expect to be able to get the same great products and the same service from the same friendly staff.” Maier is also the owner of other longtime Santa Cruz institutions, all of which have remained successful by sticking close to the original vision for each business.

Palace will continue to operate out of their longtime location at 1501-K 41st Ave. in Capitola and customers can expect ‘business as usual’ and a seamless transition of ownership.

“When we made the decision earlier this year to end our retail journey, we didn’t imagine this turn of events,” says

“Wilburn” from page 7

She was involved in the California Library Association’s Advocacy & Legislation Committee, proposing library database-sharing for youth, which State Librarian Greg Lucas then championed.

Wilburn grew up spending many hours at the Chicago Public Library. Later, she worked there as page. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois. She got a master’s in library and information science at San Jose State University before returning to Chicago Public Library where she won a MacArthur Foundation grant to create the library’s first makerspace — which won the 2013 Social Innovator Award.

She went on to work at Higher Colleges of Technology in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where students commonly used ebooks, returning to California as manager for the County of Los Angeles Public Libraries, overseeing renovation at A C Bilbrew Library, which houses the county’s African American Resource Center, hosting a Black Books Expo, and opening the Manhattan Beach Library.

Next she spent three years in the Nevada County Community Library system, first as a deputy director and then program manager before being named library director. She oversaw six branches and two service locations in the Sierra Nevada foothills, completing an outdoor amphitheater, forging a partnership to provide musicians for the Summer Learning Program concert series, and participating in the Aspen Institute Dialogue on Public Libraries.

“Yolande’s talent and experience align perfectly with the direction of our library system,” said Carlos Palacios, Library Board Chairman and county administrative officer, in announcing her selection. “Through Measure S, we are in the middle of the largest public investment in our system’s history, and Yolande is the best choice to carry this work forward.”

Wilburn said, “I sincerely look forward to working closely with patrons, staff and our community to make our system the best it has ever been. I’m grateful for the faith the selection committee has placed in me, and I’m ready to get to work.” n Roy Trowbridge, whose father originally purchased Palace in 1949. “We are honored that the Palace retail store will live on with another local family.”

This change does not impact Palace Business Solutions, the commercial division of Trowbridge Enterprises, which remains under original ownership. n