Capitola News

I have never seen a member of this stealthy band of public servants. I know not whether they belong to a totally volunteer organization or are supported by foundation grants or local government funds.

Costco, which has a store in Santa Cruz, was the only retail chain rated outstanding for overall merchandise quality in a Consumer Reports' survey of more than 26,000 readers.

The current dry and mild winter conditions we are all enjoying on the Central Coast are attributed to a La Nina event, the yin to California's El Nino yang.

Looking for that special gift to pay homage to your honey? Here are five ideas to cut costs, and create a memorable gift that can't be fully store bought.A Bring a Restaurant Home: A If you want to avoid the crowds lingering at restaurants on Feb.

If you haven't heard of Delivered With Love by Sherry Kyle , then you should. This book caught my eye on first glance.

For the past six months, Joyce has been delivering pizza, subs, pasta and salad as well as any other item available on the menu at Joe's Pizza Subs.

Take out your fishing event calendars and put down these two dates — Feb. 24 and March 10. The first date marks the beginning of the three-day fly fishing show coming to the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton. The second is the day of the annual perch tournament on Monterey Bay. The fly fishing show is totally dedicated to those who like to fling flies for their fish. The show features some of the best fishermen in the sport sharing their knowledge on how, where and with what to find fish with a fly. Some will be holding seminars on various locations and techniques. The Destination Theater will offer the traveling angler a chance to preview several exotic angling destinations. A row of fly tyers will offer instruction on putting together the latest effective patterns, and casting clinics will be available for those who want to tune up their game. You can go to their website at www.flyfishingshow.com for information on start times and admission fees. The annual sand crab class perch tournament March 10 will be limited to the first 300 entries. A 2 p.m. weigh-in will be held at the Portuguese Hall at 216 Evergreen St. in Santa Cruz. Start times are not official. Participants can be on the water at any time that day. Prizes will be awarded to the winners and a banquet is planned at the hall once the weigh-in is completed. The entry fee is $35 per person, or $60 for a team of anglers. Proceeds from the event benefit the Monterey Bay Salmon and Trout Project. Sign-ups are taken via the event's website (which has not yet been published). Check with your local tackle shop or tune in to the 'Let's Go Fishing' radio show for the name of the site and additional information. Speaking of surf perch, the action for barred perch in Monterey Bay is reported to be good. According to those who walk the beaches, plenty of structure has been formed along bay beaches south of Capitola. Anglers that are finding the fish are targeting holes or rip currents with plastic grubs. The number of perch has not been impressive, but the size of the catches has been good. Fish from one-and-a-half to two pounds have been taken in the last few weeks. Out on the water the hunt continues for a good sack of sand dabs and Dungeness crabs. Limits have been the rule for people on local party boats. These $75 trips have put a lot of good seafood on local tables. Occasionally, a boat will run into a school of mackerel and add them to the fun. Reports also have tons of anchovies in the bay, and the knowledgeable ones predict they will be around when the salmon season opens in April. Let's hope so. The winter rain has been pretty much absent from our stretch of coast this winter, but up north the coastal streams have recently received a nice infusion of water that have the steelhead in the mood to play. Good reports are coming from the Russian, Gualala, Garcia, Chetco, Smith, Mad and the south fork of the Eel. Valley streams like the Feather, Mokelumne, Sacramento, and American rivers all have steelhead. Since our local streams more resemble a wading pool than a river, it looks like local steelhead anglers will need to put in some windshield time if they want to connect with their favorite fish. a Mike Parrish is a Salinas-based freelance writer. His "On the Water" column appears every other week. Contact him at mdpfly@aol.com

Niels Kisling walks around Capitola s Rispin Mansion. The 90-year-old structure on Wharf Road has been cleaned up after a 2009 fire.

Thirteen years ago I was an eager, fresh-faced college graduate. Anxious to get my journalism career rolling, I buzzed the news desk of my hometown paper, the Santa Cruz Sentinel, and hounded the city editor until he gave me an internship.

Calling her a thief and a criminal, Judge Ariadne Symons sentenced a former real estate broker to eight years in custody on 15 charges of embezzlement and passing bad checks.

Calling her a thief and a criminal, Judge Ariadne Symons sentenced a former real estate broker to eight years in custody on 15 charges of embezzlement and passing bad checks.

The organization that promotes local tourism Wednesday unveiled a free app for iPhone and Android dedicated to helping people find what they want to do, where to eat and where to stay when they visit Santa Cruz County.

What : This organic, estate-grown blend of our cabernet sauvigion and merlot grapes is a deep amethyst color with tastes of blackberry and black current, dark cherry and wild elderberry.

In last week's Quick Bites, we asked what local restaurants were serving up special for Valentine's Day.

He said Capitola hopes to take advantage of the open source software developed by Code for America for the city of Santa Cruz but the website redesign must come first.

Santa Cruz County is offering couples who want to tie the knot on the most romantic day of the year a chance to do it with a view looking out at the San Lorenzo River from the fifth floor of the County Administration Building with cakes, flowers and live TV "Wed Cam" coverage that can be seen worldwide.

Have some change to spare? For the month of February, Community Bridges Meals on Wheels is asking locals to donate at least $5 to their Piggy Bank Coin Drive.

The day before, there were more than 400 redevelopment agencies in California accounting for about $5 billion in annual expenditures, which mostly went to help alleviate blight, build affordable housing, and provide local control over revitalization and economic development.

For the month of February, Community Bridges Meals on Wheels is asking locals to donate at least $5 to their Piggy Bank Coin Drive.

There are many restaurants and bars offering Super Bowl Specials this Sunday, February 5. Kickoff is at 3:30pm. Here are some highlights.